


How Time Slipped Away From Us

by Sontalia



Series: The Girl That Fell Through Time [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon Lesbian Character, Canonical Character Death, Cute, Dancing, Drinking, F/F, Femslash, Getting Together, Grinding, Lesbian Sex, Mature Chapters are Labelled and Skippable, Oral Sex, Plane Crash, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Slipstream, Romantic Fluff, Slipstream Incident (Overwatch), Slow Burn, Speedy Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:55:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22675207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sontalia/pseuds/Sontalia
Summary: Angela Ziegler has been working at Overwatch for years. It's her job, her home, her whole life. She hardly has enough time for food or sleep, much less romance. But when a hotshot new pilot is brought in to test an experimental aircraft, she finds herself falling for her coworker faster than she ever thought imaginable. With the rapidly approaching maiden voyage of the Slipstream, will Angela manage to admit her feelings, or will they continue to dance around each other until her friends can no longer stand it?This is the story of Lena Oxton's first days at Overwatch, and how Angela Ziegler learned to cherish the things that are important - before it's too late.
Relationships: Genji Shimada & Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Gérard Lacroix/Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Jesse McCree & Genji Shimada, Lena "Tracer" Oxton & Winston, Lena "Tracer" Oxton/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison (mentioned), Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix & Angela "Mercy" Ziegler
Series: The Girl That Fell Through Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707826
Comments: 50
Kudos: 74





	1. An Old Friend and a New Recruit

Doctor Angela Ziegler sat back in her seat, rubbing her eyes, wishing that her persistent headache would go away. After countless hours spent staring through her microscope, noting every modification and its effects with hardly a break, she was paying the price. She closed her eyes and massaged her temple briefly in a futile attempt to ease her throbbing skull. Unsurprisingly, it was ineffective. Sighing in her vague disappointment, she tried to turn her wandering attention back to the minuscule robots under her microscope.

 _They’re only robots when they work. Which they don’t,_ she reminded herself, with more than mild annoyance.

She glanced at the clock and sighed again. 8:30. Another missed dinner, but still no progress. And the clock just sat there, ticking away like some cruel reminder that she had yet to make a single breakthrough on the problem that had been driving her mad for months. To make the frustrating little contraptions work. To make nanorobots that would repair damaged tissue.

It wasn’t that they weren’t _capable_ of doing it, they just didn’t know _what_ they were doing. She knew they worked, having tested them by placing some in her own bloodstream several years ago (much to the annoyance of her friends, but she wasn’t going to put a random person at the mercy of an untested technology). But she had needed to program her body into the nanobots, so that they could recognize her tissue, and be able to tell it apart from anything harmful. Once they knew what the correct version of Angela Ziegler was, they could restore her to that condition, repairing her body and removing any damaged cells or pathogens in the process.

The problem was when she tried to make it work for _everyone_. The robots had to be able to scan a person’s genetic code first, then repair their body correctly. But right now, they were unable to discern human DNA from the countless other types that could be found in a wounded or sick individual. In their current state, the nanites were either repairing everything, causing rampant infections and cancers as they duplicated every cell they encountered, or they were destroying everything, killing helpful and harmful cells equally.

Sometimes, when she got especially frustrated and needed to vent, her friends had to put up with her irritated rants, not just with the problem at hand, but with herself for not being able to find a solution. Of course, they would try to appease her annoyance, telling her it was _not_ just a simple problem with a simple solution. She was struggling with the same problem that had been equally perplexing to every other brilliant scientific mind of the world ever since she had released the results from her first experiments. Her friends knew that she was simply expecting too much from herself, but she would simply shake her head and say, “There must be something I’m missing.”

More often than she liked to admit, her friend Winston would come down to the lab, finding her with bags under her eyes, almost collapsing from lack of sleep and multiple missed meals. Sometimes he nearly needed to physically pull her away from her research, insisting that she take better care of herself. She was a doctor, after all. She should know better.

Just as she had the thought, she looked up at the sound of the door to her lab opening. Standing in the doorway was Winston himself, making his way inside with a kind, but concerned smile on his face. It would have been an odd sight for many people, to see a gorilla smile sympathetically at them as he adjusted his glasses on his nose. But for her, working with Winston was one of the highlights of her job as Head of Medical Research at the Overwatch Headquarters in Switzerland. He was one of the kindest souls on the entire base and probably the most brilliant scientist she had ever met. Even when he could not provide insight or assistance, he was always there with some verbal support, or even just a big, warm, encouraging hug.

At the sight of her best friend, she sat back in her chair and smiled, rubbing her eyes again.

“Hello, Winston. What brings you here on this lovely evening?” she asked, feeling that she already knew the answer.

“Hey there, Doctor,” he replied, a concerned look still on his face. “I’m here because, well, you missed dinner again.”

“I know. I was just trying to finish up some work…” she started, trailing off as she realized that her excuse would do nothing to alleviate her friend’s concerns.

“I’m worried about you. You’re missing meals, you hardly sleep. It’s not healthy, Angela. I know you want to work on this, but it won’t help if you’re exhausted.”

The doctor drained the rest of her coffee mug, grimacing at the cold, stale abomination that assaulted her taste buds, before it settled nauseatingly in her empty stomach. “I know, I just feel like I’m so close to an answer,” she grumbled, rubbing once more at her aching temples.

“And maybe you’ll find it if you eat something. The chef made roasted potatoes and stroganoff, and for once he didn’t completely ruin it,” Winston chuckled, beckoning for her to join him.

At the mention of food, her stomach helpfully reminded her that it _had_ been over eight hours since her last meal. From the grin on Winston’s face, she blushed, realizing she was not the only one that heard it.

_Any meal the chef doesn’t turn into total rubbish is worth a try, isn’t it? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to call it a night._

“I guess you’re right,” the normally stubborn doctor said, mildly annoyed that she had allowed herself to be convinced so easily.

He laughed, clearly relieved that she had decided to cooperate. “I’m glad I don’t have to use force to get our Head of Medical Research to take care of herself,” he teased.

Angela shrugged, feigning irritation at his words as she began to put away her research. “Yeah, yeah.”

After several minutes of silence, she looked up, curious why her friend had let the quiet stretch for so long. She felt a smile crack across her face at the sight of the massive gorilla, timidly shuffling his feet along the ground as he tried to put words to his request. She recognized that face. Winston never had been comfortable asking for help.

“Was there something else you wanted to ask me?” she prompted, as encouragingly as she could on her precariously small amount of sleep.

He winced slightly, startled into action by her question. “Yes, well, you see… I don’t want to give you any more work. Pretty hypocritical of me and all, considering I was just telling you to lighten up and all that but… remember that project Torbjörn and I were working on? The Slipstream?”

Angela quickly searched her memory for the familiar name. Then, she remembered the animated discussion between the two engineers over dinner several weeks ago. “A new airplane, right? Something about testing a teleporter system?” she asked, only remembering vague details of their conversation.

“That’s the one. We think we finally found a pilot. And uh, we were kind of hoping you could do her medical evaluations and all that… Maybe check her out and get her ready for the flight? I should probably ask someone else, but Moira and Bernard aren’t exactly the most approachable and I want to give her a good impression… so if you don’t mind?” he stumbled. “Her name is Lena Oxton. She’s really sweet and shouldn’t cause any trouble.”

Angela smiled, already nodding her head in acceptance of his request. Winston really needed to learn that she didn’t mind helping him at all. In fact, his projects usually provided a welcome distraction from her normal work.

“Winston. I would love to. I probably would have insisted on doing the evaluation myself anyways,” she said, laughing at her friend’s baffled expression.

“Really? It’s no trouble?” he asked, still not quite believing her.

“None at all. You know I don’t mind helping, and this project means a lot to you two,” she grinned, placing the last piece of her equipment back into its case. “How could I say no?”

“Thanks, Angela,” the gorilla sighed in relief.

“Any time, Winston,” she smiled affectionately as the lines of worry disappeared from her friend’s face as yet another weight left his shoulders. He still had to make the plane fly, but at least the health of his pilot was no longer a concern.

_Now I just hope that dinner is as good as he says._

* * *

Angela sat at the desk in her office, brow furrowed in concentration as she pored over a small mountain of paperwork. These monthly reports on the health of the base were the bane of her existence, but they weren’t going to finish themselves. Outbreaks, recurring conditions, isolated incidents; they all had to go in the report. She also needed to inventory medical supplies: what was used, what needed to be replaced, if anything should be purchased. Overall, a comprehensive administrative nightmare, especially for the overworked doctor.

Regardless of her distaste for paperwork, she always put her full concentration and effort into them. They were important, whether she liked it or not, so she always tried to give them their due attention. In fact, she was focused so completely on the form that she did not even hear the soft sound of the medical bay’s door opening.

After a few moments, a light knock on the doorframe of her office suddenly brought the doctor to the realization that she was no longer alone, and a distinctly British accent cut through the haze of concentration. “Cheers, love! I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” chirped the newcomer politely.

Angela quickly set down her pen, cursing herself for her tendency to get so absorbed in her work, and turned to the source of the voice. When she did, any reply she might have been capable of producing immediately died in her throat. Her mouth, opened in preparation for her reply, hung there for an embarrassing few seconds as her brain short-circuited.

She hurriedly closed her mouth, feeling her cheeks heat up at the sight of her visitor. The woman was basically the personification of cool. Sunglasses, a worn brown leather jacket, and tight blue jeans framed a rather short, athletic young woman with spiky brown hair and a cheery grin on her face. No, she was definitely more than cool. She was _hot_.

Angela kicked herself internally for that thought. Usually, at work, she maintained a certain professional barrier, not letting herself become particularly _interested_ in either patients or coworkers. Regardless of how attractive they may be, she was a professional after all, and she prided herself on her ability to keep herself emotionally detached. Today, though, it took far more effort than it should to distract herself from how the woman’s lips curled into a smirk, how she casually flipped up a lock of her spiky hair that fell in her face, or how her hips were thrown jauntily to the side as she leaned against the doorframe.

 _She’s a patient. Even if she’s probably only here for a physical. You call yourself a medical professional, thinking like that?_ she chastised herself.

At least her friends were not here. They would, no doubt, have plenty to laugh at if they saw her now. McCree, for example, would tease her relentlessly before giving her his professional opinion: ‘You gonna stand there all day gawking or you gonna get your gay ass up and do something about it? Ask her out, or at least flirt with her.’ But that, of course, was out of the question. Not only would it be wildly inappropriate, but she knew nothing about this woman beyond her face and voice. She preferred to get to know her before trying to start anything.

_Wow, it really has been a long time. I don’t even know her name yet and I’m already thinking about asking her out._

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Which was proving rather difficult with the way the woman was still leaning almost cockily against the doorframe, arms crossed, and that all-too-attractive smirk still anchored firmly on her face.

The woman, apparently unaware of the effect she had had on the doctor, took off her sunglasses, revealing warm, cheerful brown eyes that looked inquisitively at the other woman, likely not understanding the doctor’s strange reaction to her entrance. Despite the question in her eyes, the stranger held out her hand. “Name’s Lena. Lena Oxton. They told me to stop by here, said it was the med bay, but I can come back later if that’s better?”

Angela kicked herself internally. Of course. Lena Oxton, the new test pilot for the Slipstream. She had been scheduled to arrive today, but the doctor had promptly forgotten all about it due to her mountain of paperwork. Feeling a little guilty, she shook the proffered hand. “I’m Angela Ziegler. Nice to meet you, Miss Oxton.”

“Likewise! And please, Doctor Ziegler, none of that Miss Oxton nonsense, I’m just Lena. Miss Oxton just doesn’t sound like me, you know?” she replied with a giggle.

Angela chuckled at the younger woman’s enthusiasm, “Alright, Lena. Well, I suppose it’s only fair you can call me Angela, then.”

The other woman hesitated a little until, sensing that Angela was being genuine in her offer and not making it out of any sense of social obligation, she grinned widely. “Thanks, Angela. So, you’re the doc around here?”

“Yes. Are you here for a physical? I suppose they sent you down here before starting anything else.” the doctor inquired. Her question was largely unnecessary. It was standard procedure to have everyone on the base undergo a physical when they first arrived, to ensure they were not carrying any particularly dangerous or contagious diseases.

“Yep! They’d hardly talk to me except over coms ‘til I came down here.”

“Sorry about that. The guards do seem to take that particular regulation a little too seriously. I’d be happy to start that physical for you right now, if you’d like,” Angela said, sliding the papers back into their folder and standing from her desk.

“No worries, love! Eager for something a bit more interesting than paperwork?” Lena asked, winking.

Angela rolled her eyes as she followed the shorter woman from the room. “You have no idea.”

Lena quickly hopped up onto the examination table, her feet dangling off the side as she smirked at the doctor expectantly. Angela shook her head, chuckling again at the woman’s energy, and made her way to her side.

Luckily, the physical went off without a hitch, and Angela was thankfully able to consistently form coherent sentences in her patient’s presence (the only incident being when Angela had to listen to Lena’s heart: putting the stethoscope under Lena’s shirt making her own heartrate skyrocket. Which, of course, she tried to tell herself was a complete coincidence).

As Angela discovered throughout her examination, Lena was easily the happiest person to have ever set foot in her office. The woman was upbeat and excited about everything; just being here seemed to have a thrill of its own for her. And, as it turned out, she made for excellent conversation, especially considering they knew next to nothing about each other. As she finished testing Lena’s reflexes (which were, unsurprisingly, exceptional), they broached the subject of her arrival at Overwatch.

“So, how did Winston find out about you? He was searching for someone for so long, I was a little surprised when he suddenly found a pilot.” Angela asked.

“My old flight instructor. I got my license a few months ago and I was going to sign up for a job. Maybe to do tours or be an instructor myself or whatever, but he thought I might like something new. So he contacted Winston, and before I knew it, here I am,” Lena said with a little giggle.

“That’s really good of him. Most people wouldn’t go to that much trouble for someone else.”

Lena smirked, “Yeah, he’s a good bloke. And I’d done a few test flight gigs at that point, so I guess I was a good pick. Besides, you never know, Winston might’ve been offering him something in exchange,” she added, rubbing her fingers together in a sign for money, rolling her eyes jokingly.

Angela chuckled, but she sensed the woman’s own skill had more to do with her recruitment than she was letting on. She had seen the files of most of the applicants, most being in their forties and fifties, all experienced veteran pilots. And she would be surprised if Lena was over twenty. This woman must have been in a class of her own.

“Well, you must be quite the pilot. Winston seemed rather taken with you,” she said, a small note of admiration sneaking into her voice.

She thought she saw the hints of a blush on the woman’s cheeks at the praise. “I’m not bad, I guess,” Lena shrugged modestly.

“I bet you’re a whole lot better than ‘not bad,’” the doctor disagreed. “Winston rejected at least twenty applicants before you, and those are just the ones that even made it to the interview.”

Lena smiled warmly, blushing a little harder. “Thanks, love. I guess I… I just…” she began before trailing off into silence, seemingly lost in thought.

She remained quiet for several moments before continuing, softer, with more sincerity in her voice. “I’m just genuinely chuffed to be here, you know? I mean, out of all the people in the world, they picked me! I almost can’t believe it. I’m working with _Overwatch_! I mean, you guys are heroes,” she said, looking up at Doctor Ziegler, her eyes full of admiration.

At this, it was Angela’s turn to blush. All that time cooped in her lab, and she had almost forgotten that so many people saw them that way. To most of the world, Overwatch was a group of heroes, victors of the Omnic Crisis, and still fighting to keep the peace in an unstable world. And with that woman, calling her a hero with her eyes full of hope, Angela didn’t know how to react, stammering, “Wow… thanks… I uh… I just don’t know what to say. Nobody has ever called me a hero before.”

Lena met her gaze, giving her a meaningful look. “Well, you are. So, uh, thanks. For everything you’ve done, doc.” She smiled again, then hopped up from the bed, “The checkup too. I think I’m gonna like it here.” With that, she turned and left the office, giving Angela a little wave as she departed.

The doctor felt pride bubble within her as she watched her leave. She was doing good work. And even if her research was at a point of stagnation, her efforts were appreciated. Knowing that meant more to her than she realized.

Noticing she was still smiling at a closed door, Angela sighed, then turned her attention back to the paperwork on her desk. Suddenly, that stack of paperwork became even more unappealing. However, before she could return to work, her disappointment at seeing the woman go was quickly reversed when that cheery voice once again grabbed her attention.

Lena was leaning her head back into the office, smirking once again. “You know, if you’d rather not go back to your paperwork, I wouldn’t mind if you showed me around the place. They, uh, didn’t exactly give me a tour and it might take me a while to find room, uh,” she glanced at a slip of paper in her hand, “C 1216, all by myself.”

Angela grinned, her documents immediately forgotten, “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fic I've ever published, so please let me know what you thought of it! I really love these two characters and I wish they were paired more often, especially since they work so well for a fic like this.  
> Any comments and kudos would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Edit- So I was just reading around on AO3 today and I realized this first chapter has several similarities to Just a Moment by timmytam0907. I just wanted to say that these similarities are a complete coincidence (I hadn't even read it before today) and that I had absolutely no intention to use their ideas or anything of the sort. Just wanted to clear that up :)


	2. Dr. Ziegler Develops a Crush

It turned out, although Angela had always struggled with small talk, striking up a conversation with Lena was easy. The young pilot seemed to be willing and eager to talk about almost anything. And it seemed that at the Overwatch Swiss Headquarters, between the towering concrete buildings and the hustle and bustle of daily life at the base, all with the picturesque backdrop of pristine alpine wilderness, there was plenty to catch Lena’s interest.

But unlike many people that talk a lot, she was also a great listener, and Angela found herself chatting almost as much as the excitable Englishwoman. On their impromptu tour, she found herself deep in conversation with her new friend, exchanging stories of old classmates, coworkers, bosses, and ended up learning a great deal about her. She learned that Lena loved punk rock and painting, and that her favorite meal was fish and chips. In exchange, Lena was introduced to her love of reading and Swiss chocolate, as well as her tendency to work just a little too hard.

She rapidly found herself becoming more and more comfortable talking to the young woman, recognizing a kindred spirit. On the surface, it would seem that the excitable, confident pilot would have little in common with the more reserved, studious doctor, but they were much more similar than meets the eye. One of their most evident similarities was a fierce sense of justice and a desire to do what was right. She could see it in Lena’s eyes when she spoke of the vicious treatment of Omnics in London, or of the bullies that she would fend off to protect the younger children when she was in school.

“That’s why I didn’t join the RAF, you know? I mean, the prime minister banned Overwatch from the bloody country! How’s anyone supposed to make anything better if we just keep making it harder for the people trying to fix it?” Lena had said.

But even though Lena had not joined the RAF, her passion for flight was remarkable. Like Angela, whose fascination with medicine left most people in the dust, Lena’s enthusiasm for aviation was so endearing, it made Angela chuckle quietly. She made a mental note to add the aircraft hangar to the tour.

Lena seemed impressed as Angela continued to show her around the headquarters, but it was nothing compared to her reaction on reaching the hangar. The young woman was momentarily speechless at the state-of-the-art fighters, spy planes, and transports resting in neat rows inside the vast space, ready for action at a moment’s notice. Lena took a few cautious footsteps forward, exceedingly careful not to touch anything. Her eyes were as round as marbles, absorbing as much as she could of the sight before her.

Finally, language seemed to return to her. She gave Angela’s sleeve a little tug, her voice full of awe as she whispered eagerly, “Oh my god, love, it’s a VAC 2800 Thunderhawk! I’ve read about them, but I’ve never seen one in person!”

As they moved down the rows of airplanes, each new model left Lena just as awestruck as the last, and the young woman eagerly moved between them, still cautious, but with an obvious bounce of excitement in her step. Angela looked on, softly smiling to herself as the young woman was completely overwhelmed by so many of the world’s most advanced aircraft, all in one place.

After nearly half an hour, Lena finally realized that she had gotten a bit distracted. “Oh, bloody hell. I got a little carried away. Sorry, love, I didn’t mean to waste your time…” she said, looking apologetic as she led Angela from the hangar, albeit still a little reluctantly.

Angela quickly tried to appease the younger woman’s worries. “Don’t worry about it. It’s only fair. I do the same thing all the time. If you ever take me to a medical technology convention…” she trailed off, waving off the apology with a chuckle. And she was a little surprised to find that she really meant it. She _didn’t_ mind.

Although, it was pretty obvious why. The reason was currently bouncing happily along by her side, bubbly and joyful, relieved that the doctor was untroubled by her little detour. “Aw, love, I might have to take you up on that. It’s only fair, yeah?”

Angela felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks, the pilot’s cute behavior tugging slightly at her heartstrings. “How could I refuse such an offer?” she replied immediately. Even the casual offer of spending more time together was an appealing one, and Angela surprised herself with how quickly she jumped at the prospect. “So, did you always want to become a pilot?”

Lena nodded happily. “As long as I can remember. When I was younger, I used to paint a lot of skies and planes and stuff like that. Whenever I could find a good spot…” she trailed off, suddenly uncertain.

Angela raised an eyebrow at the cryptic response. “A good spot?”

Lena looked down and shuffled her feet, taking a moment to look slightly embarrassed. “Well, you know, a lot of my artwork was… um… not exactly legal, you know?” she replied nervously. At the doctor’s continued confusion, she elaborated, “You know, murals and the like? Covered up some of the rubbish that was already there.”

“You were a graffiti artist,” Angela realized, finally understanding Lena’s implication. The shorter woman looked up at her endearingly, eyes wide and puppy-like, fearing her disapproval. Angela chuckled, touched that she already seemed to value her opinion so much. “I don’t mind, you know. We’ve all done things we aren’t always proud of,” she replied, barely restraining herself from ruffling Lena’s hair affectionately. “And I’m sure it was a lot nicer than whatever was there before.”

Lena grinned; her confidence restored. “You bet, love! I did some really cool stuff! I’ll show you sometime. I did this really nice one on the side of the café that I worked at.”

Angela chuckled again at the woman’s breathless energy. “You worked at a café?”

“Yeah! It was alright, but I was really just saving up to get my pilot’s license, you know? Put a little away for uni or something, too, but I’m not really sure what I want to study. Flying’s properly brilliant, so I’m not really sure what else I’d want to do.”

Angela nodded and gave the young woman an affectionate smile, knowing exactly how wonderful it could be to find something that you loved doing. Lena returned her smile with a brilliant one of her own, and Angela felt her heartrate spike as the woman went from attractive to devastating in one expression.

“But enough about me. What about you, love? Did you always want to be a doctor?” Lena asked, looking attentively at Angela as the doctor gathered her thoughts and tried to ignore her involuntary reaction to the younger woman’s expression.

“Ever since the Omnic Wars. So many people lost so much, I felt like it was only right to try to help people after that,” Angela replied, biting her lip as she hesitated, uncertain if she should elaborate further.

Lena noticed. Her hand found Angela’s shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly. “Something bad happened, yeah? You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want, and I know we just met, but you don’t have to hide anything from me, love.”

Angela argued with herself momentarily.

_Hottest girl you’ve met in ages and you’re already about to dump your sob story on her. So much for impressing her._

Reminding herself that the woman was technically a patient and she shouldn’t be ‘impressing’ her, Angela relented. “My parents,” she sighed, looking away sadly as she remembered that tragic day. “I was at school when an omnic terrorist blew up our neighborhood. The other kids and I only found out when the bus was about to drop us off, but there was nothing left but burning rubble. I guess I became a doctor so no one else would have to feel how I did.”

When she looked back, her eyes glistening with tears, Lena was not disgusted or uncaring. She met the doctor’s tearful gaze sympathetically, her own eyes also wet with moisture. “No one should have to live through that, love.”

She pulled the doctor into a firm hug. “No one,” she repeated, her voice softer.

Angela tried not to enjoy the embrace too much.

 _It really has been too long since I’ve been hugged by an attractive woman,_ she thought, feeling her body begin to melt into the younger woman’s arms as tears still rolled down her cheeks.

She pulled away quickly, wiping her eyes and blushing lightly.

_God, you really are a whirlpool of emotions right now. Pull yourself together!_

“Thanks, Lena. I don’t know why I’m dumping all this on you. I barely know you,” Angela said gratefully, touched that the young woman was so perceptive and kind, even to someone she just met.

“I don’t mind, Angela. You were the first person to be nice to me when I got here, it’s only fair I return the favor, yeah?” she chuckled, refusing to take credit for her big heart.

“Seriously. Most people don’t stop to pay attention. Or care.”

_Great. Now you’re dumping your loneliness on her too. Make it seem like people don’t like talking to you. Way to mess this up, Ziegler._

Lena had clearly seen right through it. “Well, they’re stupid, then,” she replied, “And missing out on a friendship with the best doctor on the base.”

“You haven’t met any of the others yet,” Angela reminded her, smirking slightly at Lena’s reply, hoping her expression masked the way it made her feel.

Lena gave her a cheeky grin. “Doesn’t matter. I doubt it’ll change my mind, anyway. You’d still be my favorite.”

Well if that comment didn’t make Angela’s heart pound…

She quickly reminded herself that there wasn’t and shouldn’t be a ‘this’ to mess up. She was supposed to be emotionally neutral. But damn, if she wasn’t halfway in love with this woman already. Not only was she cheerful, beautiful, and better conversation than most of Overwatch, but she also noticed and cared about Angela’s feelings? Keeping her feelings at bay was going to be more difficult than she thought.

“So, tell me about your research, love. A brilliant doctor like you has to be working on something amazing…” Lena said with a cute wink.

_Did I say difficult? More like impossible._

* * *

“Bonsoir, Angela. Comment allez-vous?” greeted the smooth, seductive voice of her best female friend over the phone.

“Hello, Amélie.” Angela replied, laying back on the couch and making herself comfortable. “Work was nice. How about yourself?”

“I had fitness training for ballet today,” Amélie groaned melodramatically. “I am completely sore.”

Angela grinned, knowing that her friend had not hated it nearly as much as she let on. “Is it still the same instructor? The one you said was hot?” she teased.

The Frenchwoman gave an emphatic sigh. “ _Yes._ He is a very good-looking man,” she replied, a little dreamily.

Angela chuckled. “You’re married,” she reminded the Frenchwoman, grinning in amusement at her friend’s antics.

“This does not mean I cannot appreciate from a distance,” Amélie replied, her tone betraying a mischievous smirk. “What good is art if it cannot be enjoyed?”

Angela rolled her eyes, laughing. After several moments, her friend joined in, letting out a rich, throaty chuckle of her own. “But we always talk too much about me,” Amélie continued, once the doctor’s giggles had subsided. “How about you? You said your day was good, no? Pourquoi?”

She felt herself blush, remembering the cheerful British pilot that made her day so memorable. Hesitating just a moment too long, she answered the question, her voice coming out noticeably hurriedly. “Nothing much. Just my paperwork didn’t take as long as I expected.”

“And what else?” Amélie asked, obviously having noticed her sudden awkwardness.

Angela recognized the tone of her friend’s response. It was the one where she smelled drama, and she was not going to let up until she found out what it was. “I also finally got a chance to meet that pilot that Winston’s been talking about,” she replied a little too casually.

“Pilot?” Amélie inquired curiously.

“For a new airplane they’re designing,” she replied, not sure exactly how much of the Slipstream project was classified. Choosing to err on the side of caution, she kept her reply vague. “I don’t know much about it. But when I met her, she was kind and cheerful. And she’s fascinating, Amélie. She loves painting and music and she adores airplanes…” she trailed off, realizing she was about to start rambling. While she was willing to tell Amélie about Lena, she didn’t want to give away how the young woman made her feel.

Her friend didn’t reply immediately. Amélie let the silence drag just long enough to make her meaning obvious before asking, “Was she cute?” It didn’t matter that Angela could not see her expression. She could _hear_ her smirk.

“No… I mean, maybe… what does that have anything to do with anything?” the blonde stuttered, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“You are rarely subtle, chérie. You, Angela Ziegler, took time out of your beloved research to ‘hang out’ with someone you might never see again. Besides, you have always liked the dashing adventurer types,” Amélie replied, chuckling.

“I was just being friendly… No one had given her any directions, so I was only showing her around.” Angela protested.

“Ooh, so you gave her a tour as well?” the Frenchwoman chuckled again. “This just gets better and better.”

Angela sighed, realizing she had been figured out. She should have known she could not keep anything from Amélie. It was a little annoying how well her friend could read her.

“Okay, fine, she was really hot, alright?” she said, somewhat exasperated.

“What was she like?” Amélie smirked, an almost sing-song quality to her voice as she pried for details.

The doctor tried to stay annoyed, but her glare quickly faded into a small smile at the memory of the young woman. “She was pretty short and slender, kind of built like a runner. She had a few freckles and this brown spiky hair that she had to blow out of her face every once in a while.”

Angela paused, an image of running her hands through that messy brown hair jumping unbidden into her mind. She shook her head to clear the thought, continuing, “And she kept giving me these annoyingly hot smirks and winks that made thinking really difficult.”

Amélie laughed, loving every moment of this conversation. “Mon Dieu, you’re so useless, Angela. Did she have a nice butt?”

Angela blushed hard, not only at her friend’s bluntness, but also at the memory of a rather distracting backside. “Not that I was paying attention…” a derisive snort interrupted her “…but yes, she had a very nice butt. Amazing boobs too.”

Amélie gave a low whistle that drew a groan from Angela. Her friend really was insufferable. Realizing she had given a mostly physical description of Lena, she quickly continued, not wanting Amélie to think it was nothing but sexual attraction. “It was her personality that was the most remarkable part. She was kind, caring, and generous. She loved to chat, but she still made time to listen, especially if she felt the subject was important to you. And her smile could light up the whole room.”

The Frenchwoman chuckled again. “You’re quite infatuated with this woman, aren’t you?”

Angela wanted to deny it, but she had enough self-awareness to admit that yes, she may have developed a bit of a crush on the British pilot. “Maybe a bit,” she muttered.

The other woman laughed, but this time, it was more sincere, and her voice less teasing. “Good for you, chérie,” she said, genuinely happy for her friend. “It makes a good change to hear you talk about someone that caught your eye. Normally, our conversations end up with me talking about some hot actor I saw in a movie.”

It was true. Being one of Amélie’s closest female friends usually meant being on the receiving end of what Amélie’s husband, Gérard, often called ‘girl talks,’ which often involved celebrity crushes. The fact that they were attracted to opposite genders never really seemed to bother either of them. “You know I don’t mind,” Angela giggled, “Just because I don’t share your interest doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize.”

“While we are on the subject, though, did you see Nicholas Aveo in the movie that came out the other day…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure about how this chapter turned out, so let me know if you liked it!  
> Also, Amélie makes her first appearance! I really like the idea of Amélie being Angela's best friend and helping her with her attempts at romance. Don't get me wrong I love Widowtracer too, but for the purposes of this story, she will be remaining the straight best friend.  
> If you have any suggestions or requests, please let me know.  
> And as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Translations:  
> Bonsoir, Angela. Comment allez-vous? - Good evening, Angela. How are you?  
> Pourquoi? - Why?  
> Chérie - dear (you probably already knew this one)  
> Mon Dieu - My God


	3. To Form a Friendship

It had been two days since she had met her new friend. Although Amélie had even called her again yesterday, looking for new developments and teasing her relentlessly about her little crush, she had not seen Lena since that first day. But while they were apart, Angela had found her thoughts drawn surprisingly frequently back to the young pilot. Yesterday, on several occasions, she found it unexpectedly difficult to concentrate, distracted by the memory of a cute smirk, a cheery face, and a shock of brown hair.

For now, it was merely attraction, with the amount of time since her last romantic relationship only augmenting the feeling, but she knew it could easily turn into a full-blown crush if she wasn’t careful.

This morning, like most others, she stood in front of her mirror, humming quietly to herself as she pulled a brush through her freshly washed shoulder-length blond hair. When she finished, she retrieved her lab coat from its hanger, slipping it on over her black t-shirt and gray pants, completing her typical attire for the day. It may have been a predictable outfit, but it made sure she looked reasonably professional, and it had the added benefit of being so routine it was automatic.

Without having to put too much effort into getting ready, Angela typically used the time to think. She always had research, appointments, and paperwork to do; and none of them were going to remember themselves. But today, she thought about Lena Oxton.

Disregarding her crush, she still hoped to see more of the likeable pilot. She could see a friend in Lena, and she wasn’t about to let that pass by, just because Lena did not return her attraction. As appealing as a romantic relationship was, she had one of the kindest and most interesting temperaments on the base, and Angela did not want to ruin a chance at a friendship with that woman.

The issue was not that the base lacked likeable people, simply that she was sorely missing someone like Lena in her life. McCree and Genji were good friends, but they could be a little too dark and brooding at times, not like the veritable ray of sunshine that was Lena. Winston was a good friend as well, and despite being a gorilla, was one of the most understanding and sympathetic personalities she knew. He was even a scientist like herself, but in the end, it still didn’t quite feel the same as having a human companion.

And Lena would need it as well. Angela knew how difficult it was, even for someone with Lena’s sunny disposition, to make friends and become integrated into the culture at Overwatch Headquarters. Most of the agents were hired during the Omnic Crisis, so they were now in their 40s or older; and since recruitment had gone down so drastically after the end of the war, new faces were infrequent at best. It all led to a rather challenging atmosphere to adapt to, as Angela had found out when she had first joined.

She realized she wanted to be there for the young woman, to make her transition as smooth as possible, just as much as she wanted a friend for herself. So, as Angela made her way to the breakfast hall, she determined that she would befriend Lena, not only for the companionship, but so the young woman would feel welcome and accepted to Overwatch.

Fully prepared to have to look for Lena at a later time and date, Angela sat down at a vacant table, her tray of breakfast in hand. She pulled out an electronic tablet, navigating to her calendar and reviewing her schedule for the day. However, her routine was suddenly interrupted by the very person she had planned to seek out.

“Cheers, love! Mind if I sit here?” called the distinctive Cockney accent.

Startled, Angela froze, her spoon halfway to her mouth as she looked up from her pad. Sure enough, Lena was standing right next to her, gripping a tray of her own. Snapping herself out of her surprise at the coincidental arrival of the very woman she had been thinking of, the doctor quickly set her pad down and lowered her spoon, smiling up at the young woman kindly.

“Of course,” she replied, glad that she would not have to seek Lena out.

“Thanks, doc!” Lena flashed a smile and made herself comfortable, plopping herself at the table and taking a sip of tea. She let out a little sigh of relief as she closed her eyes contentedly. “Ah, that’s pretty good stuff.”

Angela grimaced slightly at her cup of coffee. “Not sure I agree with you on that one…” she murmured, taking another sip of her deeply mediocre drink. It was more dirty water than actual coffee, especially compared with the strength of what she normally drank. Usually, she made her own coffee, but, having forgotten to replenish her fully depleted supply of beans, she was forced to endure the atrocity that was the dining hall’s attempt at the beverage.

Lena chuckled and took another sip. “I swear, love, they might not know their way around most things here, but the tea is actually good!” She held out her mug to the doctor, beckoning with her free hand. “Go on, try it.”

_Wait, she wants me to… share with her?_

Angela blushed slightly, but the brunette was not wavering, still pushing the cup into her hand. Deciding she was reading too much into it, she pushed those thoughts away and accepted the beverage. She took a tentative sip, still dubious of the mess hall’s ability to produce anything edible. What she was anticipating, she didn’t know, but she definitely had not been expecting her mouth to fill with the warm, rich flavor of well-made Earl Grey. Her eyebrows went up in surprise and she took another sip, then returned the mug to Lena.

“Wow, that is actually quite pleasant. Why is the tea so much better than everything else?” Angela asked of no one in particular.

“Right? I was as surprised as you!” Lena exclaimed, laughing warmly. Then she leaned in, whispering almost conspiratorially. “Apparently Captain Amari had a bit of a row with the cooks over what makes good tea. Since then, the tea has seen quite the improvement. I guess they couldn’t just refuse the Captain now, could they? I must say, I’m not complaining,” she smirked, returning her mug to the table, but not before taking another appreciative sip of the warm liquid.

Angela chuckled herself, then leaned in as well, her tone dripping mock seriousness and secrecy. “And how is it that you came across this information, Agent Oxton?”

Lena’s face lit up in a brilliant grin, delighted that the doctor was participating in her little joke. “She told me herself,” she whispered. “It sorta came up when I was introducing myself. I guess we both come from places that love their tea, after all…”

Angela giggled, poking the younger woman in the side teasingly, “So you’re just basically a walking stereotype, aren’t you, Lena Oxton? A cheerful British crack pilot that loves tea?”

Lena smirked, raising her eyebrows. “And proud of it, love! Besides, you’re one to talk. An overworked Swiss prodigy doctor that lives off coffee?” she replied, trying to disguise her laughter with an exaggerated eyeroll to punctuate her words.

“I don’t _live_ off coffee,” Angela pouted as she unconsciously reached for her mug and lifted it to her lips.

Lena raised an eyebrow teasingly. “Liar,” she grinned.

The doctor simply rolled her eyes as she took a sip, and immediately regretted it. She grimaced as the now lukewarm and deeply unpleasant beverage hit her tongue and lowered the mug again, setting it a little further away so she wouldn’t repeat that mistake.

The younger woman raised her own mug, offering it to the doctor with her eyebrow still raised and a massive grin on her face. Angela glared at her as she accepted, but she really did need something to wash down the flavor of her previous beverage.

Lena chuckled and rested an arm on her shoulder, “See? Eventually, I’ll convert you to my tea-drinking ways. It’s better than coffee anyways.”

“Not a chance. Besides, you probably like crumpets, so there’s no accounting for taste,” Angela replied, the corners of her own mouth twitching upwards as well.

Lena theatrically put a hand over her chest, her mouth open in an expression of mock offence. “You wound me, madam, with such a slur against my country.”

Although they both briefly tried to hold back the laughter that threatened to escape them, they were highly unsuccessful. Both women rapidly broke down in a fit of giggles. Angela knew they were probably getting funny looks from their fellow agents, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. As they slowly calmed, she glanced at the woman beside her and felt her heart warm at the happiness she saw in her eyes.

It had been ages since she had just _laughed_. Not a giggle or a friendly chuckle; a good, proper laugh, preferably with a friend. She really had no idea how much she had been needing something like this. God, it felt good.

After several minutes of companionable silence, both women simply enjoying each other’s company, Angela finally remembered Lena’s previous comment. “So, if you’ve met Captain Amari, I assume you also met the commanders? Morrison and Reyes? What did you think of them?”

Lena pursed her lips in thought. “Well, I really like Captain Amari. She’s obviously looking out for everyone, and her heart’s in the right place. We ended up talking while the commanders were having a bit of a row.”

“Those two? Fighting again? Oh dear. I’m sorry you had to see that.” she replied with a sigh, rather unsurprised. The commanders of Overwatch and Blackwatch were constantly arguing, often about even the most trivial of disputes. Even simple differences in style or preference had the two at each other’s throats, with arguments almost coming to blows at times. The tension between them was so thick, it was as if it could be cut with a knife.

Lena giggled, “No worries, love. They probably just kissed and made up after I left.”

The pilot really had uncanny skills of observation. The tension between the commanders was obvious, but to notice that it bordered on sexual or romantic tension was not always so easy. It had taken Angela several weeks to notice the subtle hints within the commanders’ constant fights: the looks that they passed each other, the comments that could almost border on innuendos, the overreaction to the other’s mere presence, but somehow, the Brit managed to catch on in merely a single conversation.

Despite her bemusement, the doctor grimaced at the memory of some of their more intense disagreements. “Those two are at each other’s throats one minute, and almost _sappy_ the next. I swear, they’ll be the death of me.”

Lena laughed again. “It’s like a bad rom com isn’t it?” she giggled. Then, her forehead scrunched a little as she thought about it again. “Actually, no. Scratch that. It might actually be pretty okay if they do it right. Two commanders that hate each other and keep acting that way even after they realize their true feelings? I’d watch that. But I’d watch almost anything once,” she finished pensively, her forehead scrunching as if she were visualizing a plot for the film as they talked.

“You like movies?” Angela asked.

Lena’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, I love them! I used to watch all the time with my mates back in London.”

An impulsive idea crossed the blonde doctor’s mind. _Would she be interested? I’ll never know if I don’t ask._

“Do you…um…are you interested in…joining me? For a movie. I put one on… every once in a while and I would… um… I would love the company.” she stuttered, embarrassed, but hopeful.

Angela loved movies, but she almost never invited people to join her. Especially not at her place. It just never seemed right. Her days were long, and after interacting with patients, coworkers, and superiors all day long, social interaction was usually the last thing on her mind.

 _Funny how quickly you’ll go back on all that for a pretty face,_ her conscience chastised her.

She decided to ignore it.

Lena looked a little surprised. “You mean, at your place?” she asked skeptically.

Made nervous by the other’s reaction, Angela quickly backpedaled. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I just thought…” she began, but trailed off when she saw the excited grin break across Lena’s face.

“I’d love to, doc,” she replied. Then, her smile was quickly replaced by a rare look of timid uncertainty suddenly crossing her normally confident expression. “You sure I wouldn’t be any trouble?”

Reassured, Angela breathed an internal sigh of relief, trying to calm her nervously beating heart. Trying not to let her previous apprehension show, she gave a friendly smile. “Of course, Lena. I’d love to have you.”

The brunette’s face broke into another excited grin. Clearly, the prospect of a movie night appealed to her. “Sounds brilliant, love.”

“8:00, then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Angela might have a bit of a crush.  
> As always, please let me know if you liked it! You have no idea how happy it made me to see that people have been liking this story so far! And please feel free to leave any suggestions for future chapters, or if you notice any mistakes I made, in the comments! Or email them to me at sontalia5@gmail.com  
> See you next time!


	4. Movie Night

For the first time in the last two weeks, Angela had left the laboratory on time. She was in her quarters, cleaning up and making the place look more presentable. She was by no means a messy person, but her tendency to end up working until she collapsed at her desk in the early hours of the morning left her with little time to tidy her quarters, so her room was far more disheveled than she might have hoped.

She never really realized how long it had been since she had last cleaned, but the simple act of running a dust rag over some of the less heavily trafficked furniture made it clear that it was about time. Making a mental note to do so more frequently, she began wiping down much of her furniture to remove the layer of dust that had accumulated there.

Realizing the furniture was likely not alone in its dustiness, she pulled the vacuum cleaner from the closet and gave the room a rapid once-over. With this complete, and with the random article of clothing or two that had found themselves draped over the back of a chair returned to the dresser, she simply had to decide what to wear.

Normally, whenever she watched movies, she would simply wear what she wore to sleep. A long, loose-fitting shirt and a pair of comfortable underwear were usually perfect for that, but this time, she obviously would have to choose something a bit less casual. After all, they still hardly knew each other, and she wanted to leave a good impression on her guest. But she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to look sexy at the same time.

She glanced through her wardrobe, her eyes briefly landing on a pair of very short shorts and a white t-shirt that was at least a size too small, both old birthday gifts from friends that had not quite gotten her size (or style) right. The shirt was far too tight, so it stretched noticeably across her chest, accentuating her curves and leaving an enticing strip of stomach visible. Combined with shorts that left little to the imagination, Angela couldn’t help but imagine what would happen if she wore it.

Like the gentlewoman she was, the flustered pilot would struggle desperately to maintain eye contact as her gaze was drawn down to the attractive curves of the doctor’s body. She would stutter, barely breathing and heart pounding as Angela backed her against the wall, cupping her cheek and pulling her into a passionate kiss. Just as she began to reciprocate, Angela would push up her shirt, trailing fingers along her sides as she pushed her thigh up in between Lena’s, the pressure making the woman release a cute gasp…

Angela blushed furiously at the thought. Ashamed at where her mind had gone, she shook her head to clear the image.

_Keep it in your pants, Ziegler. Think of all the reasons you shouldn’t think of her this way. She’s working with Overwatch, so she’s your patient. She might not be interested. She might already have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. Oh my god, what if she’s straight?_

Shuddering at the thought that the subject of her affections might not even ‘swing for her team,’ Angela quickly discarded any thought of wearing _that_ outfit. Besides, regardless of Lena’s preferences in companionship, Angela did not want to come across as too casual, or even worse, too desperate.

Instead, she considered a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. A lot less sexy, but more comfortable. Much more appropriate for a movie night between friends, but still too casual, especially since they were only just getting to know one another.

_I’m overthinking this. There’s no reason to worry this much about a meeting that is very much not a date, no matter how much I want it to be._

Convincing herself to relax, she decided on a t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. There. Something casual that looks like something she would wear any day, but still shows off some curves and makes her look good. Perfect.

Now, she just needed to wait.

* * *

About five minutes after 8:00, she heard a knock on her door. Quickly putting away the book that she had used to pass the time, she made her way to the door to allow her visitor entry, briefly stopping to glance in the mirror and fix a strand or two of hair that was sticking up the wrong way.

“Hiya! Sorry I’m late,” came a chipper British voice as the door opened. Despite trying to convince herself that appearances did not matter, Angela could not help but mentally breathe a sigh of relief on seeing how her guest was dressed. It seems the two women had had similar ideas of dress for the occasion, both opting for the everyday casual look.

“Hello, there,” she said, smiling as she gave her visitor a little wave, uncertain if a more familiar gesture would be appreciated.

Lena, however, seemed to have no such uncertainty, quickly stepping forward, grabbing the Swiss doctor and pulling her into a firm embrace. Angela briefly froze in surprise, standing in her doorway with a faint blush on her face as the younger woman’s arms wrapped around her. It was only a brief hug, more of a friendly squeeze than anything else, but it made Angela’s slightly infatuated brain lock up briefly.

Kicking herself back into gear, Angela just managed to reciprocate the hug, right before Lena had fully retreated. Groaning internally at how awkward that had felt, Angela pulled back, hoping Lena did not notice her discomfort.

If she did notice, she did a good job hiding it. Grinning, the Brit was holding up a few bags she had brought.

“I brought popcorn and crisps. I wasn’t sure which you preferred so I brought both,” she said as she made her way inside. “I thought we could have them during the movie.”

“Oh, um, thank you, Lena. You really didn’t have to get anything…” Angela began, closing the door behind her. Lena, however, cut her off.

“Really, love, it’s the least I could do. You’re bringing everything else, so it’s only fair that I bring snacks, yeah?” she said as she set the bags on the counter, then placed her hands on her hips in a way that said she was not taking no for an answer.

Seeing Angela accept this, she relaxed, then began to take in her surroundings. “So, this your place? I like it. It’s cozy.”

The blonde blushed lightly at the compliment, not sure how to respond. “Uh… thanks. Sorry it’s a little bare. I don’t spend that much time here.”

Lena smiled kindly, resting a hand on the taller woman’s shoulder. “Don’t apologize. It’s a lovely place, doc,” she said, before a cheeky, almost flirtatious smirk began forming on her face. “Besides, how could it not be beautiful? _You_ live here, don’t you?”

Angela desperately hoped that the rather dim lighting would hide how her blush went from a light pink to a deep red in a matter of moments. She had been caught completely off-guard by that comment, and she heard herself mumble, “Thanks, you’re… uh… you’re pretty beautiful yourself,” causing Lena’s confident smirk to only grow wider.

It really was unfair how attractive that smirk was. Trying to distract from her embarrassment, which was only growing in the ensuing silence, Angela tried to change the subject. “So, uh… how were your first few days?” she managed to choke out.

Mercifully, Lena did not continue teasing. It seemed that the young woman would get excited about a wide variety of topics, and luckily, this was no exception. Her smirk turned into a cheerful grin as she remembered the events of the past several days. Evidently, her introduction to Overwatch had been quite interesting. “It was brilliant! Everything is so new to me, so it takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s great, love. I finally got to meet Winston in person. I guess I just never realized he was… um… you know…”

“A genetically modified gorilla scientist from the moon?” Angela supplied with a smile, seeing the other woman stumbling, unsure of how to phrase her thoughts without causing offense.

Lena laughed, “Yeah. It took me right by surprise, that. But once I recovered, we got along great. He seems like a good bloke.”

Glad that the younger woman seemed to have gotten along so well with her old friend, Angela smiled warmly, being reminded once again of how frequently she found herself doing so in the pilot’s presence. “That he is. He’s one of the friendliest people on the base, and a true genius as well. I’ve been enlisting his help with a few of my more difficult projects.”

Lena raised her eyebrows, fixing Angela with a compassionate stare. “Aw, love, you really do work too hard, you know?” she said, resting her hand again on the doctor’s arm.

“Why do you say that?” Angela hastily replied, somewhat taken aback by the seemingly random comment, but even more so by the light touch that was proving to be a serious distraction.

“Well, pretty much the first thing you said about your friend was how well you work together. Which also kind of reminded me of something else. Remember when we first met, and I was saying you’d make a great friend?”

Remembering Lena say something of the sort during one of their first conversations, Angela nodded.

“I thought I’d pay you a bit of a surprise visit, you know? I wanted to see you again, so I stopped by yesterday morning… You were… sort of… taking a nap at your desk,” Lena said, scratching her head a little uncomfortably. “I wasn’t really sure if you wanted to be woken up, so I… snuck right back out again.”

Remembering waking with a start, confused to find herself in her office, her eyes bleary with sleep and her hair disheveled, Angela blushed in embarrassment. When she had realized where she was, she had keenly hoped that no one discovered her collapse after a particularly intense all-nighter in her lab. The lack of comments from her coworkers left her cautiously optimistic that she had gone unnoticed, but now it had turned out to be untrue. Not only had someone seen her sleeping, but that someone was the very person she wanted to impress.

She just hoped she had not been drooling. That would have been the icing on the cake. Angela groaned in embarrassment at the thought, covering her face with her hand.

Lena returned her hand to Angela’s arm, rubbing it comfortingly as she seemed to realize what was bothering the blonde doctor. “Don’t worry, love, I made sure to close the door when I left. No one else saw you.”

_It’s not everyone else that I’m worried about._

Despite her embarrassment, Angela felt her heart swell at the thoughtful behavior of the younger woman. Not only did Lena consider that she would not have wanted to be discovered or disturbed while sleeping, but she understood Angela’s current mortification at hearing that she had been discovered.

_As if I wasn’t halfway in love with her already._

“Besides, you looked pretty cute when you were asleep,” Lena added, her smirk returning as Angela blushed deeply yet again. Lena gave her arm a light, affectionate squeeze, making Angela to turn her head and meet her gaze.

Instantly, Angela was a goner. All thoughts immediately left her brain as she lost herself in the warm brown depth of Lena’s eyes. They were gentle and kind, showing nothing but affection and playfulness. Angela’s cheeks still felt warm, but while it could have been a trick of the light, she thought she saw a faint matching flush appear on Lena’s as she stepped slightly nearer.

Angela swallowed hard, realizing how close together they were standing. She made a valiant attempt to keep her eyes on Lena’s, but she could not help but to glance down at the woman’s lips. They looked so soft, so gentle. All Angela could think of was how badly she wanted to kiss the attractive young pilot that had all but dominated her thoughts since their very first meeting.

However, before she could do anything, Lena suddenly pulled back, distancing herself from the doctor and almost imperceptibly shaking her head, as if to clear her thoughts. Her playful smirk made a reappearance as she booped Angela on the nose, laughing. “So what I’m saying is you need to take more time off, yeah? Do something fun.”

Angela struggled to gather her thoughts; trying to restart her brain as the situation shifted so quickly that she felt left behind by the turn of events. She stepped back as well, a little perplexed. “Yeah… uh… I guess… I mean… wait, that’s what we’re doing right now isn’t it?”

Lena giggled. “Very true. Shall we get to it then, doc?”

Angela nodded wordlessly, lost for words as one question rattled around in her mind.

_What on Earth just happened?_

* * *

The movie was probably pretty good. Just the right amount of comedy, action, romance, and drama. Angela made a mental note to watch it again sometime when she could actually pay attention, but concentration was proving difficult.

Two hours ago, she had been fully prepared for the awkward distance and sexual tension that came from watching a movie with an attractive woman, not knowing if any romantic advances would be appreciated. But especially after whatever _that_ was and Lena’s subsequent hasty retreat, Angela had no idea what to expect.

Since the younger woman had pulled away so abruptly, Angela was prepared for the uncomfortable distance that came with that kind of tension, but was pleasantly surprised when Lena immediately cuddled into her side as the movie began, simultaneously making concentration difficult and giving the rather confused doctor a touch of emotional whiplash.

Whatever it was, she knew she could _definitely_ get used to this. Watching a good movie with Lena curled into her was nothing short of bliss.

When the film ended, Lena let out a huge, painfully cute yawn and stretched as she got up from the couch, leaving Angela with a vague feeling of emptiness as she left her side. Both seemed rather disappointed that their night was ending, muttering vaguely that ‘this was fun’ or ‘we should do this again soon’, along with sharing the odd hug or two. That night, Angela fell asleep with the memory of a warm body pressed against her own, Lena’s head tucked peacefully into the crook of her neck.

While her mind swam with the events of the evening, as she fell asleep, one thought kept resurfacing:

_I’m so fucked._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of tension, a bit of fluff, and Lena discovers it isn't that hard to fluster Angela. Let me know if you're still liking the story, if you think I'm missing something, or even if I made any mistakes when I was editing. My friend has suggested that I change the rating of this fic in future chapters, so that may be something that happens if you all are interested, but any steamy scenes would be 100% skippable if you don't want to read that.  
> Let me know what you think, and as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!


	5. The Beginning of Something New

“This is Slipstream, I’ve got a failure in the left horizontal stabilizer, I’m aborting the test. Coming in for an emergency landing,” Lena’s voice crackled over the intercom. The simulator shuddered, careening over to mimic the failure. It pitched aggressively, lurching as the failed control surface made itself known.

Angela, who was monitoring the pilot’s vitals during the test, carefully noted the increase in her heart rate and blood pressure. She followed this with a glance at the scanner beside her and a few notes on changes in Lena’s brain waves under the increased stress.

Lena wrestled with the controls, fighting to bring the aircraft back under control, her brow furrowed in concentration. Somehow, with steady, skillful movements, she managed to turn that violent motion into a semi-controllable shuddering and began to slowly bring it down toward the runway.

Angela looked on in admiration. The woman was a lot better than “not bad.” With every powerful heave, she would react just as quickly, keeping the airplane under tenuous control and adjusting the jet’s course with instant, precise movements despite the badly damaged control surface.

No wonder Lena had been chosen to pilot the test flight. She was _incredible._

Watching the video feed from inside the cockpit, Angela began to feel vaguely queasy. Even under Lena’s expert touch, the simulator still randomly bucked and heaved, and the motion didn’t sit well with Angela’s stomach. And she wasn’t even inside the simulator, whose rolling, shuddering motions often appeared to resemble those of a clothes dryer more than an airplane as it was caught in yet another wind gust.

By this point, Angela had nearly forgotten her task of monitoring the other woman’s vitals throughout the test in favor of watching this master class in flight control. Earlier, without any malfunctions, she had flown like a virtuoso, performing every maneuver with confidence and flair. Now, she was still somehow pulling it off, making flying look deceptively easy, even with a damaged aircraft. The woman was a natural.

Kicking herself for her distraction, Angela quickly noted any changes in Lena’s vitals. Increased heartrate, adrenaline, and brain activity. To be expected under the circumstances. Still easily within acceptable levels, though. And it would give her an indication of the levels she could expect in future trials.

Angela smiled to herself, remembering her surprise at even being chosen to monitor the flight tests in the first place. Especially with the number of qualified doctors and technicians on the base, any of whom could easily perform this relatively simple procedure, being selected had been a pleasant, but unexpected development. Winston had been adamant, saying, “I want the best, Doctor, goodness knows we’re putting her in enough danger as it is.”

Despite her protests that she was not actually ‘the best’ as he so casually put it, she had still been happy to accept the position, especially when Winston had added that when asked if she had any preferences of doctors, Lena had instantly replied with her name. And how could Angela refuse a request like that?

The implicit trust in such a request was flattering to say the least. After their first movie night, the two had become fast friends, sharing conversations and spending time together during breaks and meals. Soon, those movie nights had become a regular occurrence, and Lena always visited Angela in her office whenever she could find the time. And while she knew Lena considered her a good friend, the confirmation of that trust and friendship made her heart swell with happiness.

Bringing herself back to the present, Angela made a few more notes as Lena descended toward the runway, shakily approaching as the tower called in distances and speeds. After one final shudder, and to a sigh of relief from everyone in the room, the tires gave a chirp, and the aircraft rumbled along the landing strip before grinding to a halt. To say Angela was impressed by her friend’s technique was a gross understatement, and she almost let out a little cheer before remembering her professionalism. She blushed faintly and tried to look busy, saving her notes and beginning to pack up her equipment.

Lena finally relaxed, leaning back in her chair and stretching as the simulation ended. As she did so, Winston’s voice crackled in over the radio. He had been running the entire simulation from the control room and seemed rather pleased with the result. “Alright, Lena, I think we’ll call it a day. Really well done, that was quite the landing.”

“Thanks, Winston. I was worried for a bit there. That wind gust right before touchdown almost had me,” she answered, slumping back in her chair as the last of the tension left her body.

“You did excellently. Tomorrow, we’ll run through a few more basic failures, then we can start the teleportation tests.”

“Brilliant! Thanks, love,” she replied happily.

“No problem. Thanks for your hard work. Now, if you don’t mind, Doctor Ziegler, could I have a few words?”

Angela perked up, not expecting to be addressed as Lena began shutting down the simulator and packing up her equipment. “Absolutely, Winston, I’ll be right up,” she said, quickly beginning to make her way toward the stairs, unsure of what Winston could want. However, as Lena was distracted with cleaning up, Angela paused behind her as she went past. She wasn’t one to miss an opportunity, so she wrapped her arms around the brunette, her breath tickling Lena’s ear as she whispered, “Well done today. You were amazing and I loved watching you fly.”

It was hard to pretend not to notice the way the other woman stiffened slightly in surprise, her cheeks flushing at the unexpected compliment as she spun around and met the doctor’s eyes. Angela gave her a coy wink, then began to walk away, grinning to herself as the usually confident woman was left lost for words.

That was one of Angela’s favorite parts of her new friendship with the pilot. As they became more comfortable with one another, their conversations had become much more fun. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed that even normal compliments were beginning to feel like flirting. Usually, Lena was rather composed and confident, responding to any flirtatious remark with one of her own, but Angela especially loved whenever she managed to catch her off-guard, leaving the younger woman blushing and stuttering.

Even if it didn’t mean much, their playful banter was exciting and fun. And it at least gave her hope that Lena might reciprocate some small amount of her attraction. Realizing she was still smiling when she arrived at the simulation control room, Angela quickly composed herself before entering.

“Hello, Doctor Ziegler,” greeted the big gorilla, giving her a warm smile as he directed her to a small conference room off to the side. “Please, take a seat.”

“Hello, Winston,” she replied as she sat. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes. How is your nanotech development going?”

“It’s going rather well. I had a flash of inspiration the other day, so it should not be much longer before it’s ready for another test,” she replied.

“Excellent work, doctor.” Winston said.

Angela sighed, “I hope so. Trying to make this work has been a bit frustrating.”

Winston looked thoughtful for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. He smiled kindly, “I understand, doctor. Still, there’s something I’d like to show you. Torbjörn has been working on something he’s calling the Valkyrie Swift Response Suit. He thinks it will be useful for combat medics to distribute your nanorobots to soldiers on the battlefield.”

Angela drew her brows together, feeling anger bubble within her. “Battlefield technology already? I haven’t even finished development yet and everyone already wants to use it for killing. I won’t let anyone weaponize my research, you know this.”

Winston held up his hands in a placating gesture. “He said he doesn’t intend to. It’s only supposed to heal wounded soldiers and make their recovery as fast and painless as possible.”

Angela shook her head. “I’m not interested in having any part in making some army of unstoppable soldiers. They’ll kill, get wounded, heal instantly, and go right back to kill more. It’s disturbed,” she insisted.

Winston sighed, giving her a look that said she was being a little obtuse. “Angela,” he replied. “I understand you want to stop people from killing each other, but this will save people’s lives. Overwatch is supposed to help people, and it’ll be easier to do that if our soldiers are safe.”

She considered that momentarily. What Winston was saying made a lot of sense, and it was a noble idea, even if she didn’t trust that some of the higher-ups shared his goal.

“He was just looking to develop the tech. Whether or not it gets used will still be up to your discretion,” he tried once more.

Dr. Ziegler had to admit she was maybe being a bit too stubborn. Even if they didn’t always do the best job of it, Overwatch was at least _supposed_ to help people. Winston seemed to believe in Overwatch, she figured she should probably be a bit more forgiving.

“I guess so,” she relented. She still wasn’t entirely convinced, but as much as she despised violence, she would never resist a development that could save so many lives. “If you don’t mind, I want to test its systems before it goes into use. I want to know exactly what is going into this.”

“He was hoping you’d say that,” Winston smiled. “He actually built the test model with you in mind.” Angela felt relief flow through her. At least for now, it seemed that she would have some say over how the technology was used.

“There was actually something else I wanted to show you,” Winston continued, holding out a device about the size of a tennis ball. “This is a design for the dispensing system for the nanorobots. I designed it a while back, but I was waiting for the right moment to show you. Just hook up a power source and it should be able to lock on to someone and output a stream of them.”

Angela smiled at her friend, beginning to warm to the idea. “Sounds lovely, Winston. You’re right, medics could use something like this.”

A look of concern crossed Winston’s face. “How is the tech, really? It isn’t actually going to be dangerous or anything, will it? Not that I’m doubting you or anything, I just want to be sure.”

_I never should have doubted him. Of course he just wants to help people._

Feeling that she might have been overreacting a bit, Angela smiled a little ruefully. “Not without reprogramming the nanorobots themselves,” she replied. “Damaged ones are destroyed by the others just like they do viruses, so they can’t realistically malfunction. They could be reprogrammed to destroy human tissue instead of repair it, but the programming is pretty much hard coded into them. Someone could only do that while they are built, which is why I’m keeping production in my lab. Otherwise, they should be safe. I’m still here, after all, and they’ve been in my blood for years.”

“That’s a relief. As you said, the last thing we want is for someone to make a weapon out of this,” he said, looking like a massive load had been removed from his chest. “Now, on to another subject of our mutual interest,” he gestured toward the window, where they could see the young pilot, still in her flight suit, chatting with a technician as she helped put equipment away. “How is everything going with Lena?”

Angela considered for a moment before replying, “She’s performing brilliantly. She’s well within the parameters for the tests and she seems to be a natural pilot. She pulled off quite the landing today.”

Winston smiled in acknowledgement. “That she did. That she did,” he said thoughtfully. Then he gave the blonde woman a meaningful look. “But you know as well as I do that I could just check the test results if I wanted to know that. I wanted to know how _she’s_ doing. The two of you spend a lot of time together, after all.”

Angela blushed a little at the implication, whether it was intended or not. “I think she’s a bit nervous, but confident it will go well. You know the way she is. Pretty excited too, I would say. We don’t really talk about it much, though. We’re usually preoccupied doing other things.”

Winston raised an eyebrow, smirking a little. “Oh? And what sort of ‘other things’ might that be?”

Angela’s light flush turned a dark crimson. “It’s nothing like that. We aren’t…together… or anything. We watch movies together, hang out, things like that. You know, we’re friends.”

“Just friends?” Winston asked, his smirk growing wider. “I’ve heard that one before. You sure you don’t want any more than that?”

“No! We’re friends. Wait, did she say anything? Because if she did I would be willing to…” Angela found herself stammering, then trailed off when she realized what she was saying. “Wait. Did you call me up here just to tease me? Or did you actually want to know about Lena?” she asked, exasperated.

Winston laughed, deep and throaty. “A little of both actually.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “There’s no shame in wanting a romantic relationship with her, doctor. She’s your type, after all, and it _has_ been a while.”

Angela felt like she would die of embarrassment. Being teased by Amélie was one thing, but getting ‘the talk’ from someone who actually knew _both_ her and Lena was way worse, especially when he wasn’t even human, but a gorilla (albeit a very perceptive one).

“My type?” she managed, giving her friend a withering look.

“Yes. She’s intelligent, confident, cheeky, and fun. And she has a bit of that ‘dashing adventurer’ vibe, doesn’t she? Besides, you have a soft spot for brunettes with a sense of humor do you not?” Winston laughed, amused by the look on his friend’s face.

Frustrated at having been found out, Angela sighed. If Winston had also discovered her little crush, how many more people knew? Being honest with herself, she had to admit she had not been particularly subtle about it, but she was not planning on giving her friend the satisfaction of admitting he was right. Trying to hide her blush, she said, in what she hoped was a long-suffering tone. “Believe what you want, Winston. If I may be excused?”

He chuckled again, clearly seeing right through her ploy. He picked up his paperwork, preparing to leave. “Of course. Oh, and Angela? Lena talks about you all the time too. She’s always saying how incredible you are,” he replied in an overly innocent tone.

She glared at him, before turning away to hide her blush. “ _Goodbye_ , Winston,” she said emphatically as she stalked out the door.

His laughter followed her all the way down the stairs. She vaguely heard him mutter, just loudly enough so that she could hear, “They’re almost as bad as Gabe and Jack,” as he got back to work, still laughing.

She might have been a bit annoyed, but Winston’s teasing did give her quite a lot of hope.

_Maybe, just maybe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I just wanted to mention something that I probably should have earlier: as you probably noticed, I'm trying to keep things relatively close to canon except for two things.
> 
> First, (I'm not really sure if this is canon or not, but it's close enough that it might as well be) Lena isn't in the RAF in this story. I did this for two reasons: I thought, especially with how she seems to believe so much in Overwatch, she wouldn't love working for the British government if they banned the organization from operating there. Also, the timing seemed off. Lena is canonically 26 years old, but at the beginning of the Storm Rising cutscene from the Archives event, it says that it takes place 6 years ago, making Lena 20 years old. And, apparently, (I have no idea how accurate this is) it can take around 10 months to train as a pilot in the RAF, but you aren't an adult (and presumably can't enlist) until you are 18, so she would have to be 19 by the time she made it to Overwatch, giving her barely a year for the Slipstream, cadet training, Null Sector, and everything that happened around then. Instead I had her go to flight school, so that she could start at Overwatch immediately at 18 and the story doesn't need to rush.
> 
> Second, Angela hasn't developed the Valkyrie suit yet. I did this mainly because I found it made for a nice plot point throughout this story, and it will continue to be a part of the story in future chapters.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you're enjoying it! More chapters coming soon :) and as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!


	6. Laughter Is The Best Medicine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not made of stone: my friend finally convinced me.  
> I've updated the rating of this fic for future chapters, some of which will have mature topics, including sexy times.  
> With that being said, any chapters with anything NSFW will be marked in the chapter title, and will be 100% skippable, so if you don't want to read them, you will know beforehand. I will include a summary of anything relevant to the plot at the beginning of the next chapter, so that you don't have to worry about missing anything :)

“Throttle system test complete. All parameters within design specifications.”

“Thanks, Athena,” Winston said as he hunched back over the engine bay.

In the cockpit, helping to put the finishing touches on the Slipstream, was a certain British pilot that had become a more and more common sight around the hangar. Lena lay upside down on the seat, her face hidden beneath the instrument panel as she connected control cables to their respective switches, knobs, and dials. Her assistance had been a welcome addition to the project; she was careful to follow blueprints, she was good with her hands, and her enthusiasm was unparalleled. He still always checked whatever she did afterwards, just to verify, but he had found no mistakes or inconsistencies with any of her work.

“Winston, can you pass me that spanner?” Lena asked from under the console. Retrieving the tool in question, he dropped it into her waiting hand. “Thanks, love.”

It had been like this that they had spent most of their day. They spent it mostly in companionable silence, occasionally asking each other where a tool had gone or exchanging small talk. So, it was only by mere chance that Angela happened to walk in just as Lena was accepting the tool from Winston.

She smiled warmly at the casual friendship between the two as they both went back to work, neither having noticed her presence. Still grinning, she decided to make her presence known. “Hello, there,” she said cheerily.

Lena almost dropped said spanner on her head as she hurriedly slipped out from under the center console at the sound of the familiar voice. “Hiya, doc! How’s the research?” she said as she practically collided with the older woman, pulling her into a hug.

Angela returned the warm embrace happily, choosing to ignore Winston’s raised eyebrows and obvious smirk. Unfortunately, like most good things, it was over too soon. Lena pulled back a bit, her eyebrows raised questioningly, reminding Angela that she had not yet responded to her question.

“It’s going really well!” Angela explained quickly. “I’ve started mass producing the nanorobots and they’re working perfectly. Winston even made a mechanism that will dispense a stream of them to any target within range,” she said, nodding acknowledgement to the other scientist, who ducked his head modestly.

Immediately, Lena pulled her into another hug. “Aw, neat! You’ll have to show me sometime!” she replied excitedly.

She could not help but smile at the pilot’s delight. Wrapping her arms once more around the smaller woman to return the embrace, she gladly agreed. “Of course, Lena. How’s the airplane coming along?”

“It was mostly done when I first got here, but I’ve been helping Winston make a few finishing touches,” Lena said as she pulled back from the embrace. “I also adjusted some of the controls to make them easier to reach. Come on, take a look!” the younger woman said cheerily as she grabbed Angela’s hand and began pulling her toward the cockpit of the jet.

“Alright, alright,” Angela laughed as Lena practically pushed her into the cockpit. The younger woman was leaned over her, showing the doctor what all the little buttons and switches did, her eyes shining with excitement as she talked at a rapid-fire pace that made Angela’s head spin. She didn’t understand much of what was said, but she didn’t mind. Lena was practically glowing, and just listening to her speak was more than enough for the doctor.

“Wait, love, let me just… there we go!” Lena said, plopping her flight helmet on Angela’s head with a satisfied expression. She whipped out her phone, holding it up in front of her. “Say cheese!” she laughed, snapping a few pictures.

Amused by the younger woman’s antics, Angela giggled, knowing she looked ridiculous, her lab coat and short heels undoubtedly clashing horribly with the flight helmet. Combined with the fact that she was sitting in a cockpit designed for someone several inches shorter than her, it only enhancing her appearance of being completely out of place.

Of course, Lena should never have let her guard down. As she scrolled through the pictures she had taken, grinning widely as she showed them off, Angela exacted her revenge. She snuck up behind Lena, slapping the helmet backwards onto her head and quickly taking a picture of her own while the pilot was disoriented.

“Aw, love. That’s no fair,” Lena giggled. “You’re really in for it now.”

Before they knew it, all three were chuckling and taking silly pictures of each other. Angela could swear she had never laughed so much in her life. Some of the best included Winston scratching his armpits in his most comical impersonation of a normal monkey and Lena pretending to sunbathe on a wing of the jet.

Despite the silliness, several pictures turned out rather well, including an adorable picture of Lena making a peace sign for the camera with her arm around Winston’s shoulders (a photo Winston said he would keep forever), a picture of Lena and Angela with an arm around each other’s shoulders, along with Angela’s personal favorite, herself giving Lena a surprise kiss on the cheek, causing the younger woman to blush cutely.

Unfortunately, it was all over too soon. Torbjörn contacted Angela, gruffly telling her he needed her help with the Valkyrie suit, so she hesitantly told Lena and Winston that she had to leave for the day.

Lena was genuinely disappointed to see her go. “I’ll see you tonight, yeah?” she asked sadly, hoping Angela would still be able to make their movie night.

“Of course. That movie isn’t going to watch itself,” Angela responded, grinning.

“Brilliant! I’ll bring snacks,” she replied, seeming to cheer up a bit.

The doctor waved in farewell. “I look forward to it. Goodbye, Lena.”

Lena grinned and waved back. “Cheers. See ya, Angie!”

With a wave of farewell to the gorilla as well, Angela left, allowing Lena and Winston to return to work. Winston immediately picked up where he left off, making a few adjustments to the engine. However, it seemed that there was something distracting the young pilot. She was suddenly making little progress, her mind clearly occupied by errant thoughts. Little sighs and shakes of her head punctuated her actions until, a few minutes later, those thoughts evidently reached critical mass, so she drew breath to voice them.

“Hey, Winston?” she began hesitantly, her confident, boisterous persona temporarily gone as she prepared to put words to what was on her mind.

Having a good idea of what this was likely about, Winston immediately set down his screwdriver and sat down next to his friend. “What’s on your mind?” he replied.

“So, did you ever, I dunno, meet a really nice girl gorilla that you really wanted to impress, but you didn’t really know how? And you really hope it might be working anyway but you shouldn’t ask her out no matter how much you want to?”

Winston gave her a knowing look. “I know this isn’t actually about me, Lena.”

Lena wrung her hands before continuing uncertainly. “You’re right, love. So, say I met this girl that I really like,” she began timidly. “Human, not a gorilla obviously,” she quickly clarified, chuckling nervously. “And I wanna impress her, how do I do that?”

Winston chuckled. “I think you’re doing a pretty good job of it already.”

“You think? I mean, I’ve been hoping I did, but I…” she began excitedly, before suddenly trailing off. She gave Winston a suspicious glare. “Wait, why do you say that? I haven’t told you who it is.”

“This is about Doctor Ziegler, isn’t it?”

Lena seemed to contemplate for a moment, as if deciding whether to deny it or not. Eventually, she came to a decision and nodded slowly. “I suppose it’s no use denying it, is it?”

Winston chuckled again. “You’re both really obvious.”

Lena gave him a wry smile. “Yeah, we aren’t very subtle, are we?” she realized, giggling a bit at her lack of self-awareness before continuing. “At least, I think she has a thing for me too, so I really do wanna ask her out, but I shouldn’t.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘you shouldn’t’? Why not? Because she’s your doctor?” he replied, confused.

Lena gave him a sad look. Tears formed at the edges of her vision, before she burst out, “Because I don’t wanna break her heart! I’m gonna fly the bloody Slipstream in less than two weeks, and let’s be honest, no one knows what’s gonna happen. So, if I… if I don’t come back…” she trailed off, choking slightly as she tried not to cry.

She was right. They had been treating the flight as a forgone conclusion, but the results were far from guaranteed. It had been easier to disregard the risks when she was just a name on a page, but now, especially after Lena had become such an integral part of his life at the base, Winston couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. At the prospect of an accident taking one of his best friends from him, Winston felt his own eyes tear up as well.

“Don’t say that, come here,” he choked, pulling her into a hug. “You’re going to make it and you’re going to be awesome. You’ll be Lena Oxton, first person to experience teleportation. And you should, absolutely, ask the doctor out as soon as possible. Why waste time wishing you could be together when it could actually happen?”

“But what if I don’t come back? I couldn’t do that to her. She means too much to me,” Lena protested, pulling away from the embrace.

“Why don’t you let her decide what she can and cannot handle?” Winston said kindly. “I think she would say it’s worth the risks. Why don’t you ask her out to the Blackwatch party on Saturday and see what she wants?”

Lena’s expression changed to one of mild shock at the suggestion. “Party? What party? On Saturday?”

Winston quickly clarified, surprised that nobody had let her know about the event. “Did no one tell you? Blackwatch is having a party on Saturday in the dining hall. Something private they do every now and then. But occasionally, they extend the invitation to Overwatch as well. And with your test flight coming up soon, they made this one of the exceptions.”

The pilot seemed to consider the suggestion, her tears dwindling. “I guess I’ll think about it, love. I still don’t think I should… if I don’t… and if I don’t come back… tell her…” she trailed off, suddenly wiping her eyes in frustration. Standing up quickly, she exclaimed “Aw, rubbish,” and stomped out the door. With that, she was gone.

Winston sighed and began picking up her tools. He had a feeling she would not be working on the Slipstream any more today. Besides, it was nearly finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a semi-romantic friendship without a goofy picture-taking session? And soon, they might be going to a party together! Is it a little cliché? Maybe. Am I doing it? Probably :)  
> Also, a bit of a short chapter this time around. Sorry about that.  
> Let me know what you all think! Any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or kudos are much appreciated!


	7. The Party (NSFW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter - contains drinking, dirty dancing/grinding, and overall contains a rather sexual encounter. They don't actually have sex, but be warned. If this isn't for you, or it makes you uncomfortable, don't read it (or if you want you can read until they kiss, it only starts getting steamy around there) - there will be a summary of the important parts at the beginning of the next chapter :)

Parties never were Angela’s scene. She knew some would call her boring for it, but she had always preferred to spend her free time curled up with a good book and a cup of coffee. Relaxing with a few close friends, a good meal, or a movie was always an option as well, still relaxing and restful, but without the excessively loud music and the overconsumption of alcohol. But today, she was making an exception. Blackwatch was having a party, and Winston had let slip that a certain British pilot would likely be in attendance.

As she opened the door, a dim, crowded room greeted her, complete with a bar and dancefloor, which was full of well-dressed agents moving to the beat of the pumping music. At one of the tables near the entrance, she found an old friend sitting alone, looking expectantly in the direction of the bar while nursing a bottle of beer in his metal hand.

A smile broke across Angela’s face as she stepped up to the table. “Hello, Genji,” she greeted.

He turned quickly in surprise. “Oh… Angela… hello. It’s a surprise to see you here,” he said, one of his rare smiles making an appearance, the expression just barely visible under his mask.

“It has been a while since I last came to one of these, hasn’t it?” she replied, skeptically looking around at the swaying bodies, both from the music and the alcohol.

“It has,” he confirmed, “I’m glad to see you. It’s been a long time.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t come often. I don’t usually like parties much,” she said apologetically, hoping she had not hurt her friend’s feelings by declining so many of his past invitations.

Genji smiled. “I know. You don’t need to apologize. You’re welcome to stop by anytime you would like, but I would never want you to feel obligated.”

“Thanks, Genji,” she replied, smiling back. Without realizing it, both drifted into silence, and his eyes drifted off in the direction of the bar. Remembering he had been alone at the table before she arrived, she suddenly asked, “Wait you aren’t here alone, are you? I could stay with you if you are. No one should be alone at a party.”

Genji looked up quickly. “What? No, no. I was spending some time with McCree. He just went for another drink, but he seems to have been briefly caught up.” He gestured in the direction of the bar, the same direction that, Angela now realized, he had been looking when she came in.

She followed his gaze, and after several moments, she was able to discern the outline of the other Blackwatch agent through the screen of moving bodies in the dim light, and she was a little embarrassed that she had not recognized him sooner. McCree seemed to be caught up in a conversation with someone, laughing heartily at something the other said. Leaning a bit to catch a glimpse of who he was speaking to, her breath caught when she recognized the spiky brown hair and cheeky face of her favorite British pilot, laughing along with the cowboy.

_Oh my god, she’s breathtaking._

The younger woman was dressed in a well-fitted black suit, having left the top buttons of her shirt undone and her tie rather loose around her neck to give a casual flair to the normally formal clothing. It was perfect for her, and Angela felt her jaw almost drop at the sight. Lena looked relaxed and carefree, completely stunning the blond doctor as she laughed freely at something McCree had said.

She knew it made little sense to be jealous of the cowboy, but she couldn’t help but feel the emotion faintly pang at her heart. She wished she was the one making Lena laugh like that.

“Hello? Earth to Angela!” Genji laughed.

“Sorry Genji. I suppose I just got a little distracted,” she apologized halfheartedly, still somehow unable to take her eyes off Lena.

He chuckled, waving a hand in front of her face. “You still are,” he observed teasingly. “Who’s the lucky woman?”

Angela turned a long-suffering glare on the cyborg. “Bold of you to assume you have me all figured out.”

“I’ve known you for a while, Angela. At least give me some credit,” he chuckled, turning to look where she had fixed her gaze earlier. “That’s the new girl isn’t it?” he whispered, leaning in conspiratorially. “Oxford? No... Oxton. I heard you’ve been spending a lot of time together. And now you can’t take your eyes off her…”

“Shut up, Genji,” Angela grumbled unconvincingly, as she put her head in her hands. “I don’t want to hear about it.”

_But I do want to talk to her right now._

Seeming to read her thoughts, her friend pulled her to her feet, giving her a light push in Lena’s direction. “As McCree would say, ‘Go get her, tiger.’”

“Alright, alright,” Angela finally acquiesced, giving up on her half-hearted resistance. Briefly wondering why all her friends were matchmakers all of a sudden, she walked over to the bar, feeling tense.

 _‘Come on, Angela. You talk to her every day. Why is this any different?’_ she told herself.

 _‘Because she looks even hotter now. To the point where complete sentences are gonna be a problem,’_ another part of her brain replied.

Arriving at the bar, she didn’t make her presence known immediately, instead opting to order a few shots of liquid courage before she spoke to Lena. She summoned the bartender and placed her order, downing them in quick succession, and took a moment to let the burn of the alcohol help to calm her nerves. Then, taking a deep breath, she made her way to where Lena and McCree were talking.

“Mind if I join you?” Angela asked them nervously, slightly wishing she had waited for the alcohol to take its full effect before trying to use her voice.

McCree grinned, standing from his seat, two fresh bottles of beer in hand. “Don’t worry, darling. I was just leaving.” As he stood, he turned to whisper in Angela’s ear, adding, “Be good to her, doctor. She really is one of the good ones.”

And with that, he was gone, making his way back to his and Genji’s table. The cyborg gave her a discreet thumbs up, then accepted his bottle from McCree, popping the top with the thumb of his metal hand. Angela smiled quickly in reply, then slowly turned to Lena, their eyes meeting for the first time that night. With one look, her breath caught in her throat and all thoughts of asking what the two had been discussing flew from her brain. Lena had been strikingly beautiful, even from across the room, but now, so close to the gaze of those big, warm brown eyes, Angela almost forgot her own name.

The younger woman’s face quickly lit up in a huge smile, only barely having time to set down her own drink before essentially running into Angela, pulling the surprised doctor into a hug.

“Angie! You made it! I’m so glad to see you!” Lena exclaimed. She pushed her back out to arm’s length and gave her a quick once-over, before pulling her in again. “You look beautiful today, love.”

Angela gladly returned the hug, blushing deeply at the compliment. She had worn her favorite blue dress with heels, opting to let her hair down, unlike the messy ponytail she often sported around the lab. Hearing that Lena liked it made her confidence surge.

“You do too,” Angela replied quietly, surprising herself that she was able to get the words out. “I missed you.”

Equally surprising was when Lena leaned into the hug, her breath tickling Angela’s ear as she whispered, “I missed you too.”

The doctor felt a little shiver run through her body at the feeling of the brunette’s breath on the shell of her ear. Its somewhat alcoholic scent, along with the light flush of her cheeks, betrayed that this was likely not Lena’s first drink of the night, so she was rather tipsy. Despite this, the lemony scent of Lena’s shampoo, along with the familiar feeling of her embrace, was more powerful, washing over Angela with a feeling of comfort, making her nervousness evaporate by the second.

Eventually, the two reluctantly broke apart, perhaps having realized that the hug had gone on for a rather long time. Especially for ‘just friends.’ Because that was what they were. Right?

For the next hour, over several more drinks, the two women fell into their normal rhythm of casual dialogue and banter. The subject had long since become something rather irrelevant, and the two were definitely sitting closer together than they had started, sharing light touches and flirtatious giggles even more frequently than they did when completely sober.

Feeling the pleasant buzz of alcohol in her head, Angela realized she was enjoying this party. Much more than she had anticipated. The cheerful Brit was the perfect companion. Conversational and lively, but not one to leave her friend behind to be a social butterfly.

The doctor glanced again in the direction of her companion, noticing the flush of alcohol on her cheeks as she closed her eyes, moving her head to the beat of the music. After several moments, she opened them again, meeting Angela’s gaze. “I love this song,” she whispered. Without breaking eye contact, she took the blond woman’s hand in her own. “Dance with me?”

Angela’s heart did an excited little backflip. “I would love to,” she replied, intertwining her fingers with Lena’s.

“Brilliant!” the brunette exclaimed, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the dancefloor. The song was unfamiliar to Angela, but Lena was right, it was a good song. She giggled as Lena took her hands, leading her into the first few moves.

Neither woman had any formal training in dancing, but regardless, Angela still found herself having the time of her life. Her sober, more restrained self would never have done this, but drunk on cocktails and her ever-present infatuation with her dance partner, she allowed herself to be led for song after song, grinning and blushing in equal amounts.

So when Lena grinned cheekily at her as she moved to the beat, the faint sheen of perspiration making her skin shimmer in the lights of the dancefloor, her eyes looking back into Angela’s with affection and kindness, Angela swore nothing had ever looked more beautiful.

More than once, Angela felt her gaze drawn downwards, Lena’s kissable lips proving to be far more of a distraction than she had hoped. Ashamed by how badly she wanted to sweep the shorter woman into her arms or run her hands through that spiky hair, Angela looked away, blushing furiously, and almost didn’t notice the shift in the party’s atmosphere.

As many parties do, it had reached the point where the crowds have thinned and the music transitions from upbeat, fast-paced dancing music to a slower, more emotional style. Couples everywhere immediately began pairing off, and Angela’s earlier doubts suddenly returned.

_Should we stop? Is this too romantic for best friends? Does Lena still want to dance with me?_

_What if I do something stupid?_

However, it seemed that Lena lacked her reservations about the change in music, surprising her by pulling the doctor’s hands to her shoulders, while placing her own on the other woman’s waist. Angela stiffened slightly at first, but slowly began to relax into the gentle swaying.

_I could get used to this._

_This might be a mistake._

_It should be alright, though. As long as I don’t do anything stupid. Like kissing her. That would be stupid, wouldn’t it?_

_Would it?_

Angela swallowed thickly, realizing that she had been staring at Lena’s lips for a little too long. She quickly averted her gaze, hoping that Lena had not noticed. She glanced briefly to the side, feigning interest in the crowd around them. However, realizing she was looking away somewhat too obviously, she eventually found her gaze returning to Lena. And her eyes.

She was immediately enraptured. Those big, beautiful, brown eyes looking back at her with affection and… adoration. She almost didn’t recognize it for what it was at first, but once she did, she wondered how she could have missed such an intense emotion, when those eyes were so expressive.

When Lena gazed at her like she was the most wonderful person on the planet, Angela felt almost unworthy, doubting that such a depth of passion could be directed toward _her_. She couldn’t look away if she tried, as Lena made her feel beautiful and loved, without even one spoken word.

Minutes passed, and neither woman noticed. One song blended into the next, as everything in the room disappeared except for each other and the strength of the emotion that passed between them.

_I’m dreaming. Or projecting. I must just be seeing what I want to see._

But it wasn’t a dream that leaned in, resting her head on Angela’s shoulder and whispering into her ear, “You’re bloody pretty, you know that, Angie?”

Angela shivered, feeling the words tickle the shell of her ear. “You too,” she replied, a little breathlessly, as she pulled the other woman into an embrace. Their dance transformed into more of a drawn-out hug, only rocking gently back and forth as they held each other tightly. Some part of the doctor’s brain protested faintly.

_She’s your patient. And you’re both drunk. Don’t do anything stupid._

Lena pulled back slightly, her face now mere centimeters from Angela’s, and both women felt their gaze slowly slip down to each other’s lips. As if on cue, their eyes moved back up, burning with desire. As they inched closer together, Angela felt her eyelids slide shut.

_Don’t do anything stupid!_

When their lips met, it was like fireworks had gone off in her brain. Angela swore she could have melted right then as those unbelievably soft and smooth lips pressed chastely against her own. She almost had to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, but the gentle pressure against her mouth was an incessant reminder that this was, in fact, real.

_Shit! What did I just say?_

It was intoxicating bliss. The taste of the other woman’s tangy drink was still on her lips, along with another even milder flavor: mint toothpaste perhaps? Angela was feeling lightheaded, but whether it was the effect of alcohol or the other woman, she was unsure. Her only thought was, ‘ _Oh my god, oh my god, I’m kissing Lena Oxton. And she’s kissing me back,’_ as Lena’s lips began to move slowly, experimentally.

They could have stood there for five minutes or a week. Time became irrelevant as they kissed, locked in that deep embrace. Somehow, despite her small frame, Lena felt like she was everywhere at once. Her arms enveloped the doctor, bringing with them a feeling of unbelievable warmth and security that left Angela’s heart aching. Her touches were soft, delicate, as if she was worried the doctor might shatter if she was too rough.

The kiss slowly became more passionate, each trying to show the other just how much they meant to them. Angela’s previous doubts and nervousness were a distant memory, and she tested the waters, sliding her tongue gently along Lena’s bottom lip. Lena responded enthusiastically, parting her own lips to allow entry.

She began to timidly explore the interior of Lena’s mouth and couldn’t help but sigh as Lena’s own muscle joined in, initiating a little dance with Angela’s as their lips remained locked firmly together. What remained of the logical part of Angela’s mind protested faintly.

_I said not to do anything with her, but here you are with your tongue down her throat._

Angela ignored it. She wasn’t exactly sure when they had stopped dancing in favor of making out, but she didn’t care. She was kissing her crush, and it was even better than she could have imagined.

When they finally broke apart for air, she had never seen a more beautiful sight. Lena was panting in the half-darkness of the dancefloor, her cheeks flushed, pupils dilated, and lips a little swollen from their intense kiss.

Lena gave her a dopey little grin, which Angela returned. “God, Lena, I’ve been wanting to do that for so long,” she muttered, caressing the pilot’s cheek.

The brunette responded by leaning in again, dragging her into another fiery and passionate kiss. She felt a moan rise in her throat, but she swallowed it down, somehow managing to turn it into a quiet hum as Lena pressed herself more tightly against her and their kisses became hotter and more fervent.

Lena grinned against her lips, leaving a final kiss at the corner of Angela’s mouth, before she began to trace her lips down the blonde woman’s jawbone. When she reached the side of her neck, Angela’s brain ceased to function properly, and she let out a sigh of appreciation. Little butterfly kisses and soft nibbles made their way up and down the side of her throat, and the doctor released a gasp as her back arched and her head rolled to the side to give the pilot better access.

Even while making out, Lena was cautious, her lips and hands still leaving delicate caresses on Angela’s body as if she was made of glass. Everywhere they touched, it felt as if electrical sparks shot through Angela, and the room was beginning to feel far too hot.

 _‘How can someone so small be everywhere at once?’_ she thought as another delicate nibble to her pulse point made her close her eyes, burying her face in the crook of Lena’s neck to stop herself from moaning aloud.

The movement caused Lena to release a little sigh, which was cut off when Angela’s lips immediately recaptured hers, all teeth and tongues and rising desire. But the sound made Angela realize she had been receiving all the attention, so she began to reciprocate, running her own string of gentle bites and kisses along the side of the other woman’s neck. She began to run her hands along Lena’s back, sides, anywhere she could reach, and the soft gasps and sighs that rewarded her motions only encouraged her to continue.

Barely able to think through the pleasant fog that had descended over her mind, Angela pulled the other woman even closer, her thigh finding its way between Lena’s. The brunette quickly pressed her face into the side of the blonde’s neck to smother the sound of the soft moan that escaped her as her hips twitched at the sensation.

Her breath coming more heavily, Lena slid her hands down to Angela’s backside, holding them together while her own thigh pushed between the doctor’s. She rolled her hips again, more intentionally this time, the friction making both women moan quietly.

Arousal shot through Angela, making her entire body tingle and generating waves of heat that traveled straight downwards. The two women were essentially intertwined, their movements rucking up Angela’s dress and leaving them panting, their pupils dilated, and their cheeks flushed.

Angela’s right hand released its grip on Lena’s waist, and she began trailing her fingernails teasingly up her side, eventually sliding in between them and cupping Lena’s breast over her shirt. “Fuck, Angie,” Lena groaned quietly, her eyelids fluttering. The pilot brought her hand up and tangled it in Angela’s hair, pulling her into another searing kiss that was all tongues and teeth and lust and passion that made her heart race and her breath catch.

Their hips rocked together in a slow pattern, trying to smother their quiet moans through heated kisses, hoping that the dim light would hide them from observation. Another noise of pleasure threatened to escape from Angela’s lips, but she just barely managed to choke it down.

_If this keeps up, I don’t think I’ll manage to stay quiet. What if somebody noti-_

_Wait._

_Fuck._

Suddenly, the realization of where they were sunk in, and Angela quickly pulled back, despite her body’s protests to the contrary. Lena’s eyes opened slowly, confusion all over her face. But before the doctor could say anything, the expression faded as she came to the same realization.

Immediately, they looked around, desperately hoping that nobody had noticed them. Luckily, it seemed that the agents around them were distracted by dancing with their own partners, so they were unlikely to have seen anything.

Cheeks still flaming with embarrassment, Lena let out an uncomfortable giggle. “Oh my god, love, we really got a bit carried away, didn’t we?”

Angela scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah,” she whispered, blushing as she looked at the floor. “Everything you were doing felt so good.”

Lena tugged her into another quick kiss before she pulled away, meeting Angela’s gaze with half-lidded eyes. “It doesn’t have to stop there, you know. Do you wanna take this somewhere a bit more private?” she whispered seductively, tracing her fingertips along the other woman’s shoulder.

Angela gulped, feeling rather like a deer caught in the headlights as she felt a little shiver run through her at the touch. She blushed again and nodded quickly.

Lena’s brown eyes darkened with desire as a smirk broke across her face. “Good. I’m not done with you yet, doc,” she winked, making Angela’s breath catch in her throat. Leaving another quick kiss on her lips, Lena took her hand again, dodging between dancers and tables as she led her from the room. As Angela passed their table, Genji and McCree caught her eye, grinning and winking at her as she was all but pulled from the room.

She rolled her eyes, but at this point, she could not really bring herself to care. Thoughts of them flew from her head as the woman beside her began sneaking little kisses and touches all the way back to her quarters. Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit her full force.

_Oh my god. Are we actually going to do… it? Tonight?_

If the hand that had made its way to her backside was anything to go by, it seemed that they would. She was going to sleep with Lena Oxton. Tonight. And Lena seemed to be more than receptive to the idea. Angela almost had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Embarrassingly, this would not be the first time she had a dream like this, where an enthusiastic Lena would invite her to her quarters before taking things in an appropriately steamy direction. Every time, she would wake up, ashamed and aroused, with nothing but guilt, an empty bed, damp underwear, and the lingering regret that it would never actually happen.

But this was no dream. Angela found herself outside her quarters, fumbling with her room key in a valiant attempt to unlock her door, with Lena’s body pressed against her back, lavishing highly distracting attention on her neck. “You’re really distracting me,” Angela groaned, not actually wanting her to stop.

“Good,” Lena whispered as she pressed another heated, open-mouthed kiss to Angela’s neck. “I want you so bad, Angie.”

Angela had no idea how she actually managed to unlock her door, but no sooner had the door closed behind them, than Lena pounced on her, pushing her up against the wall and claiming her lips in hungry kisses. Her fingers threaded through Angela’s hair, tugging gently as a thigh urgently found its way back between the doctor’s legs and pressed upwards.

Angela groaned, her hips bucking at the pressure, the friction causing her mind to once again go blank. Lena’s free hand found her breast, cupping it gently through the material of her dress and making the taller woman’s arousal soar. She was now panting hard, the strap of her dress sliding off her shoulder as Lena kissed her way down the side of her neck, her lips and tongue making Angela’s head spin. Her eyes closed and her head rolled backward, a sigh of pleasure escaping her lips as Lena continued to wind her up.

Lena slipped her suit jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground as she worked her way down Angela’s neckline, teasing and kissing along her collarbone. Both suddenly frustrated at the lack of access, on feeling Lena’s fingers begin to play with the hem of her dress, Angela rapidly helped her slide it over her head.

Unexpectedly desperate, Angela pulled on Lena’s shirt, untucking it from her pants as she slid her hand up under the material, leaving teasing caresses and gentle touches up and down her side. Her other hand tugged at Lena’s belt, unable to get it undone with only one hand. After several moments, Lena took the hint and stepped away, quickly working her way out of her shirt and tie before unclasping her belt. Angela watched with half-lidded eyes as she fumbled with the button of her pants, sliding them down and off her legs, stumbling slightly and giggling as she did so.

Suddenly, something felt wrong. She couldn’t quite place it. The evening was going better than she could have possibly imagined, so what was setting off alarm bells in her head? She wracked her brain, but thinking was nearly impossible with Lena standing in front of her in nothing but a bra and panties.

_My god, she’s so beautiful._

Angela couldn’t help but let her eyes roam up and down Lena’s body, grinning as she saw the other woman do the same with half-lidded eyes. Lena sat on the side of the bed, beckoning for the doctor to sit on her lap. Angela gulped, wanting nothing more than to give in. But even now, she hesitated, knowing that she would not be able to stop herself once she agreed. Something was still wrong. What was it?

_That stumble._

Realization hit her like a truck. Lena was drunk. Considering how much they both had, it was astonishing she had not noticed it sooner. Lena had obviously drunk more than she had, since she had been at the party for longer, and Angela could tell she was rather drunk herself, so with her small frame, Lena must be seriously intoxicated. The stumble and ensuing giggle were proof of that.

Angela felt shame burn within her. Lena probably had no idea what she was doing, and she had taken advantage of her friend’s lowered inhibitions. They should never have even gone this far, and it would be wrong for her to keep going.

Tomorrow morning, they could figure out what _this_ was, but for now, Angela closed her eyes, breathing deeply and gathering her resolve. She was, above all, an honorable woman. To do anything else tonight would be wrong.

“Lena, we can’t,” she said, trying to hide how badly her body disagreed with her brain on that sentiment.

The pilot pouted, then stood from the bed, walking over to her. “Why not?” she asked, sounding a little hurt. “Don’t you want to? Don’t you find me attractive?” She slid closer, taking Angela’s hand and guiding it to her breast.

Lena was surprisingly chesty for someone with such a small build, her perky, firm breast fitting perfectly into Angela’s hand. Her nipple, hardened with arousal, could be felt through the fabric of her bra as the brunette looked up at her with a wantonly seductive look. Angela gulped, hard.

_Oh god, why is she making this so difficult?_

“Yes. _Very,_ ” Angela sighed, trying desperately to maintain control. “But that’s not the point. Lena, you’re drunk. I’m not going to take advantage of you.”

Lena pulled her close, pressing several quick kisses to her lips before looking up at her, her eyes half-lidded and her pupils dilated. “You aren’t taking advantage. I want this. Please, love, let me make you feel good.”

Angela gulped again, feeling that treacherous heat continue to pool in her abdomen. It would have been so easy to give in. To spend all night making love to the woman of her dreams and easing the burning ache between her legs. But it would be wrong. It would be taking advantage. Lena would regret it in the morning, and it would ruin their friendship. Summoning every ounce of her willpower, she put her hands on the shorter woman’s shoulders and gently pushed her away. “Tomorrow. If you still want to.”

Lena slumped her shoulders a bit, pouting in disappointment, but seeming to accept her reasoning. “Alright, then. Tomorrow it is,” she relented. After a few moments, she perked up, gesturing in the direction of the bed. “Do you mind if I sleep here tonight, Angie?”

Angela smiled, quickly kissing the shorter woman on the forehead. “I would like nothing more,” she whispered, before turning to dig through her dresser for two oversized sleeping shirts. “Go ahead and put this on if you want to get more comfortable,” she said, tossing one in Lena’s direction.

The brunette caught it deftly, smirking as she reached up behind her to undo the clasp of her bra, making no effort to cover herself. Angela quickly turned away before she could see anything, blushing profusely. As tempted as she was to keep looking, her willpower was still hanging by a thread, and she had only just barely managed to curb Lena’s advances last time.

Facing the wall, she quickly slipped out of her bra and put on the shirt. Turning back, she saw that Lena had done the same, and was wearing a smug grin. “It’s too much fun to make you blush, love,” she said as they slipped into the bed together.

“Can we cuddle?” Lena asked quietly as they pulled up the covers. Wordlessly, Angela nodded, and Lena snuggled up to her, draping an arm over her body.

Angela shifted a bit, making sure Lena’s hand was a safe distance from her crotch. “But I swear, if you try anything, Liebchen, you will be sleeping on the floor,” she chided.

She received a light chuckle in response. “Aw, you’re no fun. Good night, Angie.”

“Good night, Lena,” she replied.

Angela lay awake, feeling the young woman’s breathing deepen as sleep began to take hold of her. She stared at the ceiling, questions swirling through her mind.

Were they girlfriends now? Friends with benefits? Did Lena actually feel anything for her or was Lena just a horny drunk that was making an alcohol-induced mistake? Wait, had they just agreed to have sex tomorrow morning?

She gulped again, the prospect doing little to let her forget the arousal that had been building inside her for the last few hours.

_God, it’s going to be a long night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. A bit of a longer chapter. Think of it as an apology for how short the last one was :)
> 
> I've never written anything like that before, so I'd really appreciate any feedback you might have! I was really trying to show an emotional connection between these two: I didn't want it to look like a one-night stand, so please let me know if I was too heavy-handed or if you liked it or anything like that!
> 
> Also, Genji and McCree finally make an appearance! I had them in the tags for a long time because I really wanted to include them, and I think I finally found a way to start including them.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Translations:  
> Liebchen - a term of endearment, like "dear" or "darling"


	8. Don't Wanna Break Your Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that didn't want to read the previous chapter, here's a quick summary: Angela and Lena find themselves at Blackwatch's party, and after several drinks, Lena asks Angela to dance with her. Eventually, through the liquid courage (and often poor decisions) alcohol enables, they find themselves kissing. Things rapidly heat up, and although they get so lost in each other that they almost forget where they are, luckily Angela notices and stops things before they can boil over. They return to Angela's room together, where despite Lena's continued drunken advances, Angela manages to repel her until such a time as she can fully consent to a relationship, and they fall asleep together on her bed.

The blaring of her alarm eventually cut through the fog of unconsciousness, and she groaned and rolled over. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she glared at the offending clock, then made herself sit upright in the bed. A headache throbbed behind her eyes, her hangover a dull reminder of her alcohol consumption the night before.

Groggy and disoriented, she made her way to the bathroom, clumsily opening a container of pain medication. She popped a tablet in her mouth, washing it down with several handfuls of water from the sink. Splashing some more water on her face, she suddenly froze, the memory of last night arriving in full clarity.

_We were talking and dancing and… oh god. What were we thinking? Doing… that… in public, no less._

Angela groaned in embarrassment, rubbing her eyes again. Hopefully everyone had been too drunk to notice them. She was just glad they had eventually remembered to take things somewhere more private. It had given her just enough time to cool down and prevent anything from happening between them.

_Wait, I was alone when I woke up._

Angela glanced back at her bed, just to be sure.

_Where’s Lena? I didn’t imagine bringing her back here, did I?_

No, she was fairly certain that Lena had spent the night in her quarters: she remembered falling asleep wrapped tightly in the arms of the woman she loved. There was no way the memory could be so vivid if it had been a dream. But where was she now?

Angela gave her quarters a quick once-over. Apart from the shirt Lena had used to sleep, laying neatly folded on top of her dresser, there was no sign the other woman had ever even been there. No forgotten clothes and no sign of the woman herself, leaving Angela only rumpled sheets and the taunting recollection of warm lips pressed against her own.

The doctor felt her heart break. Lena obviously had never felt the same way she did, so _of course_ the younger woman must have been horrified, waking up in Angela’s bed in nothing but a shirt and panties.

How much did she even remember? Did she think she had a one-night stand with her best friend, and she was too ashamed and embarrassed to stick around? Angela sighed sadly. Last night really was all a drunken fantasy: a teasing glimpse at something she could never have. She was just glad that she had at least stopped anything from happening between them. She already felt guilty enough that she had taken advantage of the brunette with unwelcome kisses and touches.

But she felt especially guilty about the little part of her heart that wished that something _had_ happened. That she had gotten that one chance to show someone that was rapidly becoming the most important woman in her life just how much she meant. To kiss her and touch her and make her understand that she was everything Angela had ever wanted. And everything she ever would want. Even if it never happened again, her body craved it. Just once.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was wrong to think that way. She would only be with Lena if that was what they _both_ desired. Not when she was too drunk to make her own decision. And now, Angela knew that her feelings were unrequited, so as much as it would hurt, she would make no second attempt.

Trying to ignore the tears that were now running freely down her cheeks, Angela started a cold shower. Quickly slipping out of her shirt and panties, she stood under the water, feeling it run down her body and letting the shock of the temperature start to work away both her headache and her sexual frustration.

As she dressed, she tried to hold onto the vague hope that Lena might return, having only left to return her suit to her quarters or retrieve her uniform or some other little task. But, as she finished getting ready and made her way to breakfast, still with no sign of the cheerful Brit, she confirmed what she had already known. Lena was not coming back. This time, she managed to fight back the tears. She just hoped they could still be friends.

At breakfast, she glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but again, there was no sign of Lena, so Angela sat alone with her heart somehow sinking even lower. Since that first day they had eaten together, only a few days after they met, Lena had never missed breakfast with her friend. Now that she had missed it for the first time ever, it was safe to assume she was avoiding her.

Angela took another half-hearted bite of her food. It was its usual mediocre self, but she found it especially tasteless today. She didn’t even notice when two men sat beside her.

“Howdy,” came the voice of Jesse McCree from somewhere to her right. Startled, she looked up from her food to see him smirking at her, along with Genji, whose eyes betrayed a smirk of his own. Obviously, they were about to start fishing for details, and it was making her headache flair up again. She groaned lightly, rubbing her eyes and muttering, “Not now, McCree.”

“Long night, huh?” he smirked, heavily exaggerating the large wink he threw in her direction.

“You could say that,” she replied, hoping he would drop the subject.

“That wouldn’t have anything to do with Lena Oxton now, would it?” he chuckled.

Try as she might to hide her reaction, Angela felt herself blushing lightly at the implication, even as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them away in frustration, annoyed that she had let her emotions surface so obviously. It really was too early for this. Taking a deep breath, she tried to reply calmly, but her frustration and shame leaked into her tone, making her reply sound cold and angry. “That’s none of your business, Jesse. And even if it was, nothing happened, alright?”

McCree was taken aback, and his shock showed on his face. He turned to Genji in astonishment, making eye contact with the cyborg, who merely shrugged in response.

Genji put his hand on Angela’s shoulder sympathetically, his voice full of concern at his friend’s reaction even though he was still slightly disbelieving. “But she basically dragged you out of there. She could barely keep her hands off you. And you _did_ want to, did you not?”

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “We almost did. But when I realized she was drunk, I obviously couldn’t let her do anything until she sobered up…”

Genji raised his eyebrows as understanding dawned on him, then gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Of course. You are the most honorable woman I know. I should never have doubted that you would wait until you were certain of her ability to consent,” he replied with a kind smile.

“That’s part of the problem,” Angela replied sadly, her tears from earlier threatening to resurface. “I almost went through with it without thinking. How could I do something like that to her?”

“You love her,” Genji replied simply. “Sometimes, when our hearts burn so strongly for someone, we are overwhelmed by every feeling of reciprocity.” He pulled her into a hug, his combination of skin and metal proving an odd, but strangely comforting sensation. “It doesn’t make you a bad person, Angela. Quite the opposite, in fact. To have wanted someone so badly, but still manage to turn them down because their judgement was impaired shows you are, in fact, a very good person.”

She wanted to believe him; she really did. But she still shook her head stubbornly. “I never wanted to risk ruining our friendship. And now she probably hates me for taking advantage of her trust. It already looks like she’s avoiding me. It’s obvious that she doesn’t like me like that.”

“You should find her and talk to her. Don’t assume anything. See what she actually believes.”

Angela thought about this for a moment before finally nodding slowly. “When did you become so wise, Genji?” she chuckled faintly as she wiped the moisture from her eyes.

“Master Zenyatta has been helping me to find peace. I may have picked up a thing or two from him,” he replied with a grin.

“Well, thank you. To both you and him,” she said, a genuine smile finally breaking across her features.

“What about me?” McCree stepped in again, a mock hurt expression on his face. “I don’t get a thank you?”

Angela giggled, appreciating his attempt to cheer her up. “I don’t know. I didn’t see you giving me advice.”

“Eh, I’m not great with all this love and philosophy stuff,” McCree said with a shrug. “I just figure you should go talk to her. It’s not like she’ll say no.”

Genji chuckled. “Jesse’s right, you know. She adores you, Angela. You can see it in her eyes.”

The doctor opened her mouth to protest, but McCree beat her to it. “Darn it, doc, are you seriously still asking if the girl that was hanging off you all night, who couldn’t keep her eyes or hands off you, and probably would’ve slept with you right on that dancefloor if you’d asked, was into you? Really?”

Angela sighed in resignation. She wasn’t angry at McCree or anything, she knew he was trying to help. But this was going to be difficult. “Alright, I’ll talk to her,” she replied.

_I just hope he’s right._

* * *

It definitely didn’t feel like he was. Despite her best efforts, looking for the young woman in all of her favorite locations: the aviation hangar, the running track, even the medical bay (where she often spent her breaks chatting with Angela), Lena was nowhere to be found.

_She’s avoiding me._

The tears were back. Lena was ashamed of leading her on, or maybe she was feeling uncomfortable, knowing that her overtures of simple friendship had been so badly misinterpreted. Knowing that her best friend had a crush on her.

_Damn it, I’ve ruined everything. Stupid heart. I should never have fallen for her. Why couldn’t we just be friends? I should be happy with just that. Stupid._

There was only one other person that knew Lena well enough to know where she had gone. Having nearly given up, Angela trudged to Winston’s office, still mentally kicking herself. Naturally, just like something is always in the last place you look, it was just as she found herself outside Winston’s office that she finally bumped into Lena, both women far too distracted with their thoughts to notice the other until they collided.

“Sorry, love, I didn’t see you there,” Lena muttered, her eyes still downcast, not realizing who she had just bumped into. When the presence in front of her didn’t move out of the way, Lena looked up and finally recognized the blonde doctor, her cheeks immediately flushing deeply. “Oh…uh… hiya, doc… how’s it going?” she stuttered, scratching the back of her neck and trying to avoid Angela’s eyes.

“Lena! I was wondering where you had gone. I didn’t see you at all today,” Angela replied, quickly recovering from her surprise at suddenly seeing the very woman that had been occupying her thoughts.

The pilot looked uncomfortable. “Oh, you know, love, I’ve… uh… been busy and all that.”

It was obviously a lie. Not only was it a weekend, but all the places Lena usually worked during her busy days had been conspicuously devoid of the young woman.

_Well, here goes nothing…_

Angela took a deep breath, bracing herself for the discussion. She told herself, not to mention McCree and Genji, that she would, so she _would_ do it. “You left in such a hurry this morning, I was worried about you,” Angela said hesitantly, hoping to push the conversation in that direction, while simultaneously hating the idea.

Lena rubbed her hands together uneasily, guilt and shame plainly written all over her face. “Oh… yeah… I had some… stuff to do… early in the morning,” she stumbled, trying to look sincere, but failing miserably. She just wasn’t built for lying, always wearing her emotions on her sleeve, and it made her painfully obvious when she tried.

Angela felt her breathing catch, her voice breaking as tears threatened to force their way from her eyes. She would _not_ cry. She would not. “Lena, please, tell me the truth. Why did you really leave?” She wasn’t sure why she was doing this to herself. She supposed she just had to hear it. To know that there was no chance.

Lena looked distraught, a variety of emotions crossing her face. Anguish, regret, fear, all at once. Eventually, she sighed, and settled on resignation. “I guess I was hoping we could forget about it. We were both drunk and I made a stupid mistake. I was taking advantage of you and I never should’ve done that. Please forgive me.”

Angela shook her head. “You? Take advantage? It was my fault. We were drunk and I shouldn’t have done anything you didn’t want. I was the one taking advantage so I should be the one to apologize.”

Lena closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath, as if what she was about to say required tremendous effort. “You didn’t do anything wrong, love. It was my fault and I’m so sorry. You’re so pretty and it just made it so bloody hard to remember why we shouldn’t be together, you know? I just hope we can still be friends, Angie,” she said, attempting a hopeful smile, but it came out as more of an emotional grimace, her eyes shining with moisture.

“Because you don’t have feelings for me,” Angela choked, the room blurring before her as tears began to run freely down her cheeks. She told herself that she would not break down like this, but now that it was in the open, it _hurt._

“Because I love you!” Lena cried in anguish, tears of her own rolling down her face. “You’re the smartest and most wonderful woman in the whole world and I couldn’t bear to hurt you! Bloody hell, the Slipstream is in barely a few weeks and what happens to you if I don’t come back? I don’t wanna leave you alone, love. You’re too sodding important to me.”

Angela felt as if time had frozen as Lena’s words sunk in, almost not believing what she was hearing. Surely, she was dreaming. “You… you love me?” she repeated.

The young pilot wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, cleaning it on the pants of her flight suit and chuckling sadly. “Of course. Is it so surprising? That a useless lesbian like me would fall for the brilliant, beautiful, incredible doctor that was more welcoming and kinder than anyone else I’ve ever met?”

“I... I didn’t know,” she stuttered in confusion. Everything was coming at her too fast. Her brain was struggling to keep up.

Lena gave her a miserable smile. “I know. I wanted to say something, I really did. But I just couldn’t stand the thought of making you cry,” she said, cupping Angela’s cheek and wiping away a tear with her thumb. “If I don’t come back, I still want you to be happy.”

Angela scoffed, suddenly anxious to make her stop being so completely _ridiculous_. “And you think I could just turn my back and forget you? Just because we aren’t dating?” she replied contemptuously, her words punctuated by the bite of anger, all while tears still rolled down her face. To say Angela was a maelstrom of emotions right now would be an understatement. “It’s too damn late for that. It’s been too late since you first walked into my office, Lena. Did you even stop to think about what I wanted? How much you mean to me already?”

The pilot looked surprised. She froze, her confidence in her decision slipping away. “I guess… I guess I just thought it’d be easier for you if we didn’t…”

Angela silenced her by pressing a finger to her lips. “Well, you were wrong,” she said simply. Then, deliberately making eye contact with the young Brit, she gave her a little smile and whispered, “I want you. Let me decide what I can and can’t handle.”

Lena chuckled, wiping her eyes before she responded, her usual playfulness creeping back into her tone. “You’re right, love. I’m sorry I was being such an idiot.”

“Yes, you were,” she whispered. “Now, shut up and kiss me.”

Needing no further invitation, the shorter woman cupped her cheeks in both hands, her beautiful brown eyes sliding shut as she pulled Angela into a kiss. Slowly, carefully, their lips moved against each other as they tested the feeling.

_God, how are her lips even softer than I remember?_

Finally, _finally,_ Angela Ziegler was kissing Lena Oxton. They were both sober. They were both willing. And _wow_ , were they both happy.

The kiss was chaste. There was no tongue or teeth or breathy moans, but that made it no less passionate. Both women desperate to show the other just how profound their feelings were, almost nothing could distract or separate them. They remained locked at the lips, tenderly and delicately exploring the depths of their emotion, and only after several minutes did they finally part due to the severe lack of oxygen. They rested their foreheads together, pulling in deep breaths of air as they remained firmly in each other’s embrace.

Lena let out a little giggle, leaning back in Angela’s arms just enough to stare into her eyes. Just like last night, the doctor found herself unable to look away, the adoration held in those warm chocolate pools leaving her a little breathless. It really was a testament to her hopeless infatuation that she had not noticed it sooner.

Blue eyes held contact with brown, until Angela could stand it no longer and pulled Lena into another delicate, loving kiss. “God, I’ve wanted this for so long,” she breathed with a smile, when the need for oxygen again made itself known.

“Me too,” Lena replied, trailing her fingers down to link them with Angela’s. “I know I told you already, but I just wanted to say it again when we weren’t both crying, just to make sure you know. I love you. I think I have since we first met.”

Angela could only smile giddily, her heart almost too full for words. “I love you too,” she whispered. “Girlfriends?”

“Girlfriends,” confirmed an equally overjoyed pilot who, unable to bear being apart any longer, urgently reconnected their lips.

She had no idea how long they stood there, savoring the moment, embracing, kissing, and relishing each other’s company. Every time one of them broke away, giggling with joy, the other would pull them right back in until their cheeks were flushed, and their lips were swollen, and neither could remember how they had ever managed to survive without this feeling. At some point, Angela realized that she was crying again. But this time, they were tears of happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! They're finally together! And when Genji and McCree aren't teasing Angela, they're actually really helpful friends :)  
> Let me know what you thought! I wasn't sure about how to write this chapter, so any feedback would be awesome! If you think it was good, if you think it was too cliché, or even if you just want to rant about the characters being too dumb to notice each other's feelings, feel free to do so!
> 
> One other thing, since this story is getting pretty long, and even my outline for upcoming chapters is getting pretty substantial, I was thinking about making this a series. Would that be something you all would like? Please let me know, and thanks again for all your support!


	9. The Time We Spend Together

Angela stood in the corner of her lab, electronic pad in hand, completing several last-minute calculations and modifications to the Valkyrie suit. The neural interface needed to be precisely calibrated to the wearer so it could be easily controlled in a chaotic battlefield situation, and with just a few calibrations, it would be ready for field testing.

The suit itself was a basic white chest piece, which was designed to be worn under the standard Overwatch combat medic uniform. Protruding from the back, there were two luminous wings, almost giving the wearer the appearance of a fairy. Or an angel.

Torbjörn had joked about that, saying that was just one of many reasons Angela was a good choice for the job. She had all the qualifications, she worked well under pressure, and ‘even your name fits,’ but she had waved it away, since she was only there to test the outfit, not to become an actual combat medic.

He had even offered to build her an all-white suit with a golden headpiece, just to emphasize the angelic look it created, and she could only giggle at that prospect. She knew Commander Morrison would love the idea for the publicity it would create for Overwatch, but it would be a bit too flamboyant for the normally reserved doctor.

Realizing she had been getting a little distracted in her thoughts, she shook her head, then brought herself back to her work. She was helping no one by getting sidetracked, and she wanted to leave on time today. Which had nothing to do with wanting to have time to get ready for her dinner date tonight with Lena. None at all.

So, she buried herself in her work, quickly becoming engrossed in measurements, calculations, and recalibrations. Fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, sixty minutes, all flew by and she was barely aware of it: she was so absorbed that she never noticed when the door to her lab opened, her visitor quietly sneaking up behind her. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms slip around her middle, pulling her into a warm hug from behind. Caught by surprise, Angela stiffened at the unexpected contact.

“I missed you, love,” came Lena’s voice, somewhere behind her right ear. The doctor relaxed as she recognized her and leaned back a little into the embrace.

Lena pressed several kisses to the side of Angela’s neck, and the taller woman sighed happily, setting down her pad and turning in Lena’s arms so that she could face her and return the hug. She only vaguely registered the younger woman’s outfit, her blue and yellow Overwatch test pilot’s uniform implying that she was likely on a short break from her own work.

“I missed you too,” Angela whispered in reply before bringing their lips together. It was a chaste kiss, not particularly intense, but full of love and emotion nonetheless.

_Did we really see each other just this morning? It feels like longer than that._

Eventually, they broke apart for air, closing their eyes and resting their foreheads against each other, catching their breath and merely relishing their embrace. Angela took a moment to wonder why she had been so worried about changing things between them. So much of their relationship was rather unaffected by their new romance: they still laughed, talked, and enjoyed each other’s company whenever they could.

But some things were now even better. They could sneak kisses when they were in private or if no one was looking, they could flirt and touch and giggle without nervousness or awkwardness. And they could hold eye contact without worrying about making their attraction too obvious. Then, there were their movie nights. Angela particularly enjoyed those.

They were already becoming a tradition between the two women, but now they were even better. Gone were the days of uncomfortable proximity, of having her crush cuddled up against her side and trying to calm her racing heart and keep her breathing steady, hoping she hadn’t given away her feelings. Now, they cuddled with their fingers laced together, tracing meaningless patterns on the backs of each other’s hands or absentmindedly playing with each other’s hair.

It was fun, tranquil, and it warmed her heart, but tonight would be even more exciting. Lena had invited her for a dinner date, which was something Angela knew would soon be added to her list of favorite pastimes with her girlfriend.

As if reading her mind, Lena grinned. “You still free for dinner tonight?” she asked, before pulling Angela into another quick kiss.

“Of course,” came the reply, her lips forming a dazzling smile of her own.

“Good,” Lena giggled, gently tucking a loose lock of Angela’s hair back behind her ear, “I can’t wait, love.”

Angela chuckled and booped Lena on the nose with her finger, her voice dripping mock seriousness. “You’re going to have to. I’m at work right now.”

Lena responded with a seductive smirk, leaning in as her voice dropped an octave. “What if I don’t wanna wait? What if I want you right here, right now?” Her hand dropped from Angela’s cheek, trailing its way slowly down the middle of her chest before landing at her waist.

Angela felt heat rush to her face, her heartrate skyrocketing. She froze in place, looking around to make sure no one was in earshot before remembering they were alone in her lab. Lena chuckled teasingly, pressing another kiss to Angela’s lips. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”

The doctor swallowed, shoving the thought of doing _anything_ right now out of her head. She did still have things to get done today, after all, and that idea was not at all conducive to clear thinking. Having seen her reaction, Lena was looking a little smug, that annoyingly attractive smirk planting itself firmly on her features. But Angela wasn’t about to let Lena get away with that one so easily. At least, not without flirting back.

She smiled coyly, interspersing her words with quick kisses. “It… would be… a lot… easier… if you… weren’t… so… damn… hot.”

Angela could feel Lena’s smile against her lips as she drew breath to respond, but suddenly, there came a quiet knock, along with the sound of someone politely clearing their throat. They quickly pulled apart, surreptitiously smoothing down their clothes and making themselves look presentable.

“Hiya, Winston.” Lena said, giving her hair a cute little flip, returning a few of her naturally unruly spikes to their correct position. Seeing this, Angela discreetly ran her hand through her own hair, smoothing it down in the hope that it had not been too badly messed up by their kiss.

Winston looked a little uncomfortable, standing in the doorway and shuffling his feet. “Hey, Lena. I just wanted to talk to Doctor Ziegler about something. I can come back later if I was interrupting…” he replied, gesturing vaguely with his hands.

“Don’t worry, love. I was just leaving. Break’s almost up,” she responded cheerfully, hopping to her feet to give the gorilla a big hug. “See you later, Angie!” she chirped, smirking cheekily at the doctor before practically skipping from the room.

When the door closed behind her, the two scientists turned to each other, and Winston’s awkwardness at having caught them kissing began to disappear, the expression being replaced by a mirthful grin. “So, _Angie_ , huh?”

She gave her friend a long-suffering look. “Don’t start.”

“You don’t let _anyone_ call you Angie,” the gorilla noted.

Angela felt herself blush lightly, and couldn’t help smiling a bit, the memory of the plucky Brit still fresh in her mind, “I don’t want to hear it, Winston.”

Winston raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. “Alright, alright. But seriously, I’m glad for you. It’s about time you had someone that makes you happy. And she seems to do exactly that.”

He was right. From the first day, her smile, her laugh, and her bubbly, over-the-top personality had brought something into her life that she hadn’t even known she was missing. Now, she could barely understand how she’d been able to survive without it. Nodding in affirmation of his statement, Angela replied, “She does. More than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Winston grinned again. “Glad to see our doctor giving up her ‘all work, no play’ lifestyle and finally looking after her mental health.”

She scoffed, crossing her arms indignantly, “As if you aren’t the same.”

His grin only grew wider. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Angela chuckled, shaking her head in exasperation. A smile betrayed her underlying amusement as she admonished the gorilla, “What did I do to deserve the world’s most annoying coworkers? I would’ve expected this from McCree, but you?”

Winston laughed heartily, setting a massive arm on her shoulder. “Consider it payback for stealing my peanut butter last week.”

“I suppose there’s no point in reminding you that that wasn’t me?”

“None at all.”

Angela smirked, “Thought not. So, did you just come here to criticize my work habits, or did you actually have something to talk about?”

“Well, ironically, I actually wanted to talk to you about Lena. With the test flight in barely a week, do you think she’s ready?” Winston asked, genuine concern on his face.

“Physically or emotionally?”

“If I wanted to know her physical condition, I could just read your report, now, couldn’t I?” he teased.

Angela stopped and thought for a moment, trying to keep her personal feelings out of her judgement. “I’m not a psychologist, but I think so. She’s excited, but a little afraid. That’s to be expected, of course. It is a completely untested technology, after all. But she seems ready.”

“That’s good. I don’t like having to put her at risk, but I’m glad she’s feeling alright about it,” he paused, looking at Angela more closely. “What about you? How do you feel about it?”

Angela took a deep breath. “I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to her. But it’s her job, so I’ll just be glad when it’s over.”

Winston gave her a wary look; he could sense that she was a bit less comfortable with the test than she had let on, but he decided to drop the subject. “Alright, thank you. I’ll get out of your hair, then. Until the next time, doctor.”

“Bye, Winston.”

* * *

“So… how are things with your little crush?” Amélie teased, the image of her smirking face appearing on the doctor’s computer screen. “Are you ever going to ask her out, or are you just going to pine your whole life?”

Angela blushed as her mind filled with thoughts of her blossoming relationship with Lena. She didn’t want to kiss and tell, but when Amélie wanted details, she would not rest until she got them.

It turned out that she didn’t need to say anything. Between her suspiciously pink cheeks and Amélie’s uncanny ability to know exactly what she was thinking, it shouldn’t have been surprising that her friend had correctly interpreted her silence. Amélie chuckled lowly, her smirk only growing wider. “Ooh, I see,” she said. “What happened?”

Angela almost shook her head in astonishment. It really was a testament to how long they had been friends that Amélie could read her so well.

“Well, it started at the Blackwatch party,” she began. “We were dancing together, and we just sort of kissed. The next morning, we cleared the air and told each other how we felt, and now we’re dating.” Angela knew she was leaving out a rather large part of the evening, but Amélie didn’t need to know _all_ the details.

“Well done,” her friend hummed, looking rather satisfied with herself. “I was starting to doubt if you had it in you.”

“I’m not _that_ useless,” the doctor pouted. “I would’ve asked her eventually, I just wanted to make sure she felt the same way first. If she didn’t feel the same way, it would’ve made our friendship weird.”

 _‘And you are still technically her doctor,’_ an annoying part of her brain unhelpfully reminded her, but she told it to shut up.

Amélie pursed her lips, not buying it for even a second. “Yes, you are. Remember… what was her name… Clara, I think?” she teased.

Angela groaned loudly, her hand rising to her face and rubbing her eyes in embarrassment. “You will never let me live that down, will you?” she sighed.

“Nope,” her friend replied smugly. “It was funny.”

“It was not!” Angela protested. “We were only in that gay bar because _you_ were trying to set me up with someone! I don’t know why I went along with it: I should’ve realized I’d have to explain that the hot Frenchwoman beside me was not my girlfriend, just my _insufferable_ straight best friend trying to get me laid.”

“You needed it,” Amélie replied dismissively, obviously feeling little remorse for her past actions. “At least you didn’t need my help this time.”

The doctor gave a small huff and crossed her arms but said nothing.

Her friend chuckled again, rather amused at the reaction she received. “However, it seems that somehow, even without my help, you managed to… as McCree would say… ‘get yerself a keeper,’” Amélie continued, transitioning to possibly the worst imitation of a Southern accent she had ever heard.

Angela couldn’t help but giggle, her friend’s intentionally poor impersonation managing to break through her mask of mock exasperation. As hard as she tried, she never could stay annoyed at her best friend for long. And really, even the brief mention of Lena left her heart too warm to argue.

“I’ll forgive you…” the doctor began. “On one condition…”

“Yes?”

“Never attempt that accent again,” she finished with a laugh.

“I accept your terms,” her friend replied, chuckling in return. Her smile had returned, but this time, it was no longer teasing, but wide and genuine. “I want to see all of the adorable pictures.”

Angela rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Her friend could be pretty nosy at times, but for all her joking, she was such a sap for a good romance. It was part of the reason she had always loved trying to find the doctor a girlfriend.

So, for the next several minutes, the only sounds from Amélie’s end of the call were “oohs” and “awws,” interspersed with regular comments about how cute they both looked as Angela showed her many of her favorite photos they had taken together. There weren’t many, as they still hadn’t been together that long, but there were several rather adorable ones that she was all too happy to show off.

“She seems wonderful, chérie,” Amélie said sincerely, once she had seen every image. “I’ve never met her, but from the way you talk about her, I think she will be good for you. And I really liked the pictures.”

“She really is wonderful, Amélie. She’s so kind and beautiful and loving. And one of the best kissers I’ve ever known. I’ll introduce you as soon as we’re all free at the same time,” Angela replied, practically glowing as she spoke of her girlfriend.

 _‘Girlfriend. I actually have a girlfriend,’_ she realized, almost giggling with happiness as the reality of that particular thought sunk in.

“I would love to meet her,” Amélie replied with a smile. “And you are right, by the way, she does look rather handsome in that flight suit of hers.”

“She does, doesn’t she?” Angela said, her voice coming out sounding rather smitten, even to her own ears. “And I have a date with her tonight…”

Amélie gasped. “And you didn’t tell me? I’m wounded, doctor,” she said, then waved her hands encouragingly. “Allez! Get dressed. I want to help you look irresistible.”

“Alright, alright,” the blonde responded, laughing quietly at her friend’s eagerness. But she wasn’t one to refuse an offer like that, so she quickly slipped into her bathroom to change, emerging a few minutes later in a deep red dress.

“How do I look?” she asked, turning once in front of the camera.

“You look fantastic, Angela,” Amélie replied sincerely. “Lena will be blown away.”

The blonde doctor blushed cutely, giving her friend a grateful smile. “Do you really think so?”

“Oui. Combined with those black heels that you love, she will not be able to keep her hands off you,” the Frenchwoman said, her voice heavy with implication.

Angela’s blush deepened, then she shook her head. “She’s too much of a gentlewoman for that.”

Amélie grinned mischievously. “She has not seen you in that dress yet, chérie.”

The doctor had no response for that. When she did not reply for several seconds, her friend took some pity on her. But not too much. “So, what are your plans for the evening?” she asked, always curious for details of their developing relationship.

“Just dinner and drinks,” Angela answered.

“What about afterwards?” Amélie chuckled, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Angela decidedly did _not_ look at her friend’s shit-eating grin as she replied, trying not to blush. “Just dinner, drinks, and some romantic conversation.”

The Frenchwoman relented with a laugh. “Ça va. I am just teasing. Show me the setting for the table? Then I will help you with your hair.”

“Alright.” Angela chuckled in reply. “Because you asked nicely.”

* * *

Angela repositioned a candle on the table, following Amélie’s suggestion. As much as she loved to tease her, her friend really did have a talent for setting the mood. The room looked fully twice as romantic as it had before, requiring nothing more than the adjustment of a few decorations, the addition of a candle or two, and a slight dimming of the lights.

A quiet knock sounded, and she jumped slightly, smoothing down her dress and checking her hair. Giving one last glance to the meal she had laid out, she equipped her best smile, and opened the door.

The sight that greeted her made her heart pound in her throat, feeling like it was trying to burst out of her chest. Breathing steadily became difficult at the sight of Lena standing in the doorway, looking as timid as she had ever seen her. She was dressed in a handsome black suit, paired with a bright orange dress shirt, making her look absolutely stunning. Angela was glad she had not tried to tame her unruly hair; it gave her a carelessly handsome look that was so perfectly _Lena._

The woman clutched a bottle of champagne, blushing as she stared back at Angela, just as enraptured as she was. Their eyes locked, sharing a sea of love and affection, both frozen in place as they took each other in.

Lena was the one to break the silence first. “Angie, love, you’re so beautiful.”

Angela shook herself out of her stupor, realizing she was being addressed. “You too, Lena,” she faltered, trying to regain control of her breathing. She took a deep breath and made a welcoming gesture. “Come in, come in. Dinner’s ready.”

Lena stepped inside, glancing around the room as she did so. Then, her eyes were back on her beautiful girlfriend, and when the door closed, she immediately swept Angela into a deep kiss. The doctor melted, her mouth moving of its own volition as her hands found Lena’s cheeks, pulling her even closer.

“Sorry, love, probably should’ve waited until after dinner for that,” Lena chuckled as they pulled apart. “You just took my breath away, s’all.”

Angela blushed at the praise, smiling warmly as she once again tried to get her breathing under control. “You, darling, _never_ need to apologize for kissing me,” she said, silencing any possible argument by bringing her lips back to Lena’s.

It felt like fireworks were exploding in her brain, and she was struggling to breathe. Everything faded away and became unimportant, except getting closer to Lena. Her eyes closed, her nose filling with the scent of lemon and mint. She still meant to ask whether it was Lena’s soap or shampoo that smelled that way, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Eventually, Lena pulled back reluctantly so that she could speak, not quite ready to leave the lips that were pressed against her own, so she spoke only between quick kisses.

“You know… dinner’s… probably… getting… cold.”

Angela leaned back in her embrace so that she could meet her gaze. “Dinner can probably wait,” she whispered in return, smirking a little mischievously.

“You went to so much work, love. It’s only fair we put it to good use,” she said decisively, pulling back from Angela’s embrace and setting the champagne bottle on the counter. The doctor gave a massive, exaggerated sigh as she turned to the cabinet for a pair of appropriate glasses.

“You’re no fun,” she grumbled.

Lena gave her that little smirk that made her breath catch in her throat, mumbling just loudly enough for Angela to hear, “After dinner, I’ll have to show you how much fun I can be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I wasn't really expecting this story to be as popular as it is, so thank you so much, everyone! I'm so glad people are liking this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! For a little fun, I thought we could all use a bit of a fluffier chapter here :) and besides it had been an unacceptably long time since I wrote Amélie in this story, so I had to correct that. And really, what would Amélie love more than helping Angela get ready for a date?
> 
> On an unrelated note, dear Blizzard, can we please have a skin for Tracer where she's dressed like an airline pilot? Like with the suit and the captain's hat and the goldish command stripes on the wrists and all that? That would be amazing!
> 
> I also realized I had completely forgotten to add translations for text in other languages in previous chapters, so I've added that to the notes now. I'm guessing you were probably able to figure it out based on the context anyway, but I still feel bad for forgetting.
> 
> Translations:  
> Chérie - Dear (you probably already knew this one, especially if you have read a lot of Widowtracer fics)  
> Allez! - Go!  
> Ça va - Literally, "that goes," but it's often used as "alright" or "don't worry about it"


	10. I Love You More Than Anything (NSFW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to post a chapter like this, but I figured, why not? One more fluffy (and sexy this time) chapter before the plot train pulls out of the station :)
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains a sex scene. If this makes you uncomfortable, please don't make yourself read it. There will be a summary of any important details at the beginning of the next chapter.

Angela had always enjoyed their movie nights. Curling up with each other, enjoying the warmth and companionship that those few hours of cinematic distraction allowed. Noticing how Lena often struggled to sit still, bouncing her leg or shifting her position on the couch, except when she was tucked into the doctor’s arms. And of course, pretending she wasn’t getting distracted every time Lena would cuddle into her, resting her head on Angela’s shoulder.

Now, of course, they were even better because she didn’t have to hide it.

The night began like so many others. They took turns slipping into the bathroom to change into more comfortable clothing, both women opting for a simple, comfortable combination of a t-shirt and shorts. Then, a small bowl of snacks set on the coffee table in front of them, they sat down, warm and cozy in each other’s arms.

The movie was mediocre. Some new drama that had seemed mildly interesting at first, but turned out to be rather dull and ridden with clichés. And though she had tried to pay attention, halfway through, Angela’s thoughts began to wander.

Lena had her arm wrapped around the blonde’s shoulders, her fingers trailing lightly along the skin of her upper arm, and Angela’s attention rapidly left the rather predictable scene unfolding before them, becoming focused instead on the distracting feeling of her gentle touch. She turned to sneak a glance at her girlfriend, only to see that Lena had already abandoned the screen long ago and was simply watching Angela with a loving gaze.

When their eyes met, Lena blushed and seemed to contemplate looking away, embarrassed at having been caught. But then, she thought better of it, and she broke the tension, her lips suddenly colliding with Angela’s. Any lingering thoughts of the movie instantly left Angela’s mind as she grabbed a handful of Lena’s shirt and pulled her deeper into the kiss, crushing their lips together in a passionate display of affection.

They both shifted positions slightly, maneuvering themselves for better access, and they were now practically facing each other on the couch. Lena’s hand came up and cupped Angela’s cheek, holding her in place while delivering an utterly heart-melting kiss.

Maybe it was the intimate setting, one of the first times they were together in a truly private setting since the start of their relationship. Or maybe it was the looming test of the Slipstream, and some form of that background nervousness found its way into their minds. Or maybe it was neither, but they soon found their kisses becoming more heated, both feeling the need to prove to each other just how much they were treasured.

Moving almost of its own accord, Angela’s tongue found its way into Lena’s mouth, their kisses becoming messier and more enthusiastic as Lena’s own tongue joined the dance. Whenever they parted for air, blue eyes met brown and shared a half-lidded moment of love and desire, pupils rapidly dilating as they continued to make out.

The kisses felt hot and heavy, but they were neither rushed nor desperate. Every brush of lips or tongue was warm and affectionate and beautiful, making both women’s hearts swell with happiness. It was sweet yet passionate, two words that may seem mutually exclusive, but always seemed to describe Lena so well.

With her hands still tightly wound in the fabric of Lena’s shirt, Angela tugged again, and the brunette smoothly slid into her lap without breaking the kiss, straddling her waist and wrapping both of her arms around the back of the blonde woman’s neck. The movie was just background noise now, but even that faded from her perception as Lena’s kisses went from sexy to dirty to downright _filthy._ Angela just barely choked down a moan as she felt heat pool in her abdomen.

Feeling her breath come faster, Angela tangled her fingers in Lena’s messy spikes, tugging as she tried to somehow deepen their kiss even further. Lena let out a quiet gasp and moved her body forward, pressing her chest against the doctor’s.

When Lena pulled back slightly, Angela’s eyes immediately flicked open, slightly confused. The brunette met her gaze with heavy eyelids, her pupils blown so wide her irises almost disappeared. Her cheeks were flushed a light pink with heat and her lips were barely millimeters from Angela’s when she whispered, “Am I moving too fast?”

The blonde felt her heart swell with affection. It was so like Lena to make absolutely certain of her consent, no matter how obvious Angela made it. “Absolutely not,” she replied in a husky whisper. “I want you.”

“Good,” she breathed, smiling as she eagerly leaned back in to reconnect their lips. “Fuck, you’re so bloody hot, love.”

Without another word, Angela’s hand returned to her hair, tugging her back into their fervent kiss. The brunette fumbled behind her for a moment, somehow finding the remote and turning off their movie, leaving the room quiet except for the soft sounds of kisses and steadily quickening breathing.

Angela had no idea how much time had passed, nor did she care. Her brain was struggling to work properly, especially when Lena’s right hand slipped up between them, gently cupping her breast through the material of her shirt. Angela’s breathing hitched, and she responded by grabbing Lena’s butt in both hands, pulling her hips tightly against her own.

A soft sound escaped Lena’s throat, and she reciprocated by catching the blond woman’s lower lip delicately between her teeth as she pulled away, her eyes dark with desire. Then, she leaned back in, her mouth finding its way down to her jaw, and the shorter woman started blazing a fiery trail that left Angela panting as she worked her way _torturously_ slowly along the side of her neck.

Angela gasped as Lena found her pulse point and sucked lightly on it, and she couldn’t help but roll her head to the side, giving Lena the access she needed to continue her open-mouthed kisses along her lower jaw and neck.

Meanwhile, Lena’s hands had found the hem of the taller woman’s shirt, teasing at the material for several moments before smoothly lifting it over her head. Tossing it behind her without pause, the brunette’s line of kisses continued its path down her newly exposed collarbone, all the while squeezing gently at the soft flesh of Angela’s breast, trying to coax out the cutest moans from her girlfriend.

By this point, Angela was panting heavily, and a pleasurable fog had settled over her brain. She tugged vaguely at Lena’s shirt, wanting the bothersome fabric out of the way. Luckily, the brunette understood her meaning and leaned back a bit, allowing Angela to slide her white t-shirt over her head and get a proper look at her chest, this time without the haze of alcohol.

Lena wore a simple grey bra, without any lace or anything of the sort, but Angela’s breathing still hitched at the sight.

_How is it fair that she’s this fucking hot?_

“Let’s take this to the bedroom, yeah?” Lena whispered, her lips still somewhat swollen from their passionate kissing, not even trying to mask her arousal.

“ _Please_ ,” Angela gasped, so the other woman slipped off Angela’s lap, offering her hand to the blonde and helping her to her feet. On slightly unsteady legs, the doctor allowed herself to be led all the way to her bedroom, where Lena released her hand and began slipping out of her shorts. Swallowing heavily, the taller woman followed suit.

Angela was just reaching for the clasp of her bra when she saw the look Lena was giving her and froze in place, unable to remember what she had been doing. The brunette’s pupils were so dilated, her eyes so full of unbridled _desire_ that it made Angela feel lightheaded as all the blood went straight between her legs.

Without wasting another second, Lena closed the distance again, her arms wrapping around her girlfriend and reclaiming her lips. The shorter woman’s kisses were hot and heavy and passionate, as if even that short time apart had been an eternity. “Let me get that, love,” Lena whispered huskily, and her fingers deftly undid Angela’s bra, sliding it over her shoulders and tossing it aside.

She began to lower the taller woman to the bed, and Angela’s fumbling fingers somehow managed to undo Lena’s bra as well, tugging the garment free as she felt the sheets below her bare back. Lena was already above her, her warm lips starting at the doctor’s neck, working her way along her collarbone and down to her breast. She paused, leaving Angela nearly trembling as her girlfriend looked up at her, gave her that annoyingly hot smirk, then _finally_ brought her mouth down to the delicate skin.

Gently, she wrapped her lips around the peak, taking it into her mouth as her tongue teased at a hardened nipple. Electricity shot through Angela’s body, and she felt her back arch slightly, a moan leaving her lips as her arousal skyrocketed.

“You’re so beautiful, love,” Lena murmured, then sucked gently at the soft flesh of Angela’s breast, her mouth lingering but never remaining completely still. She licked and sucked and kissed her way all around the sensitive skin, drawing meaningless patterns that made Angela’s mind go blank. Then, just as she appeared satisfied with her ministrations, she moved to the other side. There, she repeated the treatment, the heat of her lips and tongue drawing a series of moans and curses from Angela’s lips.

Lena still moved slowly, trying to savor each moment. Gently loving every inch of the blonde doctor as she gradually worked her way downwards. She looked up occasionally, just to make sure that Angela had no complaints, but of course, aside from aching for her to _go faster_ , there were none.

It was obvious that Lena loved to take her time when it came to sex, as the throbbing heat in Angela’s core kept reminding her. Her movements were sometimes _agonizingly_ slow, but they were not out of any desire to tease or hear her beg for release. Instead, every intimate touch was focused on forming a deep and powerful connection with her lover. Sensing this, Angela didn’t try to rush things, even if this was _killing_ her.

She let out a groan as the young woman finally reached the hem of her panties, her fingers playing with the fabric as she left a delicate kiss on her stomach. Lena looked up at her, her face the very picture of desire as she began to slide Angela’s underwear down her long, smooth legs.

Then, the pilot was moving back up her body, kissing and sucking at the insides of Angela’s thighs until she finally arrived back at their apex. Lena’s breathing hitched at the sight of the woman laying before her, looking down with such unfiltered _need_ that her own arousal took another sharp spike. So finally, not wanting to waste another moment, she brought her lips to Angela’s sex.

Angela moaned loudly, even that featherlight touch firing bolts of pleasure through her body. Her brain was short-circuiting, only able to focus on the gentle pressure of the woman’s mouth against her core. Lena sealed her lips around the impossibly soft flesh, giving a little suction that had Angela gasping and her hips bucking against the pressure.

Then her tongue was back, touching against soft, wet folds as it teased along her opening. “ _Fuck, Lena,_ ” Angela gasped, the fingers of her right hand tangling in Lena’s messy spikes as her left clutched at a handful of the sheets.

Angela had never been so turned on in her life. Her fingers gripped her girlfriend’s hair tightly, drawing a soft moan from the brunette that vibrated against her sex, causing another pang of pleasure to rush through her. When she glanced down again, Lena was looking back with heated desire, not breaking eye contact as she gave her another long slow lick.

The blond woman’s hips bucked hard and her vision blurred slightly at the edges. Her breath was coming in rapid pants as Lena once again sealed her lips around sensitive skin, sucking occasionally as her tongue teased against slick folds.

She did this multiple times, switching between smooth licks and deliberate suction, steadily bringing Angela closer and closer to release, making the woman above her gasp for air as her body buzzed with electricity. The doctor rolled her hips again, and this time, Lena slipped her tongue inside, the deft muscle moving between walls that had by now become hypersensitive, every caress sending pleasure rocketing through Angela’s body.

Angela was so close. So _unbelievably_ close. Her rapid panting was becoming more desperate. Her body was practically trembling. The hand tangled in Lena’s hair pulled her closer, trying that tiny bit more friction that would send her over the edge.

Noticing this, Lena found her most sensitive bundle of nerves and closed her lips around it, moving her tongue in faster, tighter circles.

Finally, the knot of arousal that had so firmly planted itself in Angela’s abdomen snapped. Stars exploded behind her eyes, her vision dimming alarmingly as she crested the peak. Seemingly endless waves upon waves of a mind-numbing explosion of pleasure rocked through her body, which left her arching in a wordless cry. After what felt like ages, her vision finally cleared, and the arch in her back slowly gave way and she collapsed, boneless, to the bed. She became hazily aware of Lena, still between her legs as her tongue gently worked her through the aftershocks.

Angela’s skin was covered in the sheen of sweat, her body occasionally trembling as a residual pulse wracked through her. When the final aftershock subsided, Lena gave her sex one final kiss before climbing up the bed and laying beside her, gazing into Angela’s unfocused eyes in wonder and adoration.

“I love you,” Angela mumbled as her breath slowly calmed. “So much.”

Lena’s pupils remained completely dilated as she stared lovingly back into Angela’s eyes. “I love you too,” she said as she brought their lips together again, where they shared another kiss that made their heads spin.

The doctor felt lethargic, and even holding her eyelids open was becoming difficult as she sunk into the afterglow. She actually felt herself begin to drift off, but with a tremendous effort, she wrenched herself back from the brink of sleep.

“Your turn,” she whispered to Lena, who was currently running her hands soothingly through Angela’s soft blond hair.

“You don’t have to, love. Just go to sleep, yeah?” she said with a warm smile.

But Angela would not give in so easily. She rolled on top of the brunette, whose breathing hitched as she was pulled into another passionate kiss. “I want to,” she purred.

Lena blushed adorably. “Okay,” she said, her breaths coming faster as the blonde straddled her hips.

Angela leaned down for a kiss, her tongue slipping inside the other woman’s mouth immediately. In response, the brunette sighed quietly, her fingers slipping into her girlfriend’s hair, pulling her closer to deepen the connection. One of the doctor’s hands tenderly cupped Lena’s cheek, keeping them locked in the erotic kiss that made both women moan quietly, while the other slowly trailed fingertips up her side, grazing the firm muscles of her stomach before moving up to her breast.

Cupping the mound of soft flesh, the doctor smiled into the kiss as her girlfriend let out another breathy gasp before crushing their lips together again. Her arms were now around Angela, pulling them together and trying to remove all space between them. Their curves meshed, hips and thighs and breasts pressed sensually against each other.

Eventually, they broke apart, their breathing heavy as Angela used the hand which was still trapped between them to tease lightly at Lena’s nipple. The woman gasped quietly, her eyes closing as the doctor began kissing a trail along her jawbone to the side of her neck. There, she latched onto her pulse point, sucking not quite hard enough to bruise, but enough that Lena moaned cutely, rolling her head to the side to give her better access.

Angela was quickly learning that Lena was quite sensitive, showing her unashamed enjoyment of every touch with quiet gasps and moans. Sometimes, when Angela found a particularly pleasurable spot, Lena’s eyes would close in delight, making a soft noise in the back of her throat. Other times, when her breathing stuttered, Lena’s eyes would lock with her girlfriend’s in a loving gaze, as if she were committing every intimate moment to memory.

Following Lena’s earlier example, Angela moved slowly, tracing warm lips down a delicate collarbone, slowly working her way downwards.

Lena was panting hard by the time she reached her breast, carding her fingers through blond hair as she watched Angela plant kisses all across the soft, perky flesh. Eventually, Angela took Lena’s hardened nipple into her mouth, teasing the stiffened peak with her tongue, and the brunette let out another low moan.

They locked eyes again, the sight of Lena’s flushed cheeks and tousled hair giving her pause.

_She’s so beautiful. Especially like this._

Lena’s pupils completely filled her irises, her eyelids seductively low as she followed Angela’s every movement with her bottom lip trapped enticingly between her teeth.

The blonde switched sides, her mouth moving to the other breast, but using her hand to ensure that the first was not left devoid of her touch. She sucked gently, keeping her tongue moving to stimulate the sensitive flesh. Finally, Lena was unable to maintain eye contact, and her head rolled back, another soft moan escaping her mouth. But despite that, Angela continued to look up at Lena’s face, memorizing every gasp, every time her eyes closed in pleasure.

Her lips moved down to the woman’s stomach, eagerly memorizing the addictive combination of firm muscle and soft skin that made up so much of Lena’s body. Tracing it all the way down, Angela finally came to rest at the junction of Lena’s thighs, and pressed even more kisses to Lena’s core through her damp underwear.

Quickly, she crawled backwards on the bed, caressing Lena’s firmly muscled legs as she slid her panties down. Then, she gradually began to work her way back up, repeating Lena’s earlier attentions by pressing heated kisses to her inner thighs. She started nearly at the brunette’s knee, and slowly worked her way upwards, building the anticipation in her beautiful girlfriend as she neared her center.

Finally, she paused, her lips hovering centimeters from the apex of Lena’s thighs, the smooth skin slick with arousal. She heard the brunette’s breath catch as she drew even closer and finally pressed a kiss directly to her sex.

Warm, impossibly soft folds greeted Angela’s lips, and she was unable to contain a moan as the brunette whimpered in pleasure. Angela glanced up, seeing the brunette’s eyes screwed tightly shut and her head rolling back, lost in the intimacy as her girlfriend’s tongue began small, gentle circles.

Gasps and sighs fell from Lena’s lips, her hips twitching upwards as her body sought more contact. The firm muscles in her legs tensed as the blonde sealed her lips around heated flesh, sucking gently and drawing another, louder moan from the young woman.

Her hips twitched again, but she quickly stilled the motion, hoping Angela did not take the movement as a sign to speed up too much. She wanted to enjoy every moment of this. Luckily, Angela seemed to agree, and was busy slowly alternating between the same licking and sucking motions that Lena had used earlier, leaving the brunette panting heavily.

Lena’s sex was flushed a cute pink, glistening with moisture as Angela slid the length of two fingers through her soft folds, using her mouth to pay special attention to the small, sensitive bundle of nerves at her core. The blond woman’s tongue worked gentle circles against her, releasing quiet hums and moans that made Lena gasp.

She could tell Lena was getting close, so Angela pushed only the very tip of her tongue inside, keeping it moving in those same tight circles that were driving her girlfriend mad with pleasure. Lena’s fingers found blond hair, gripping it tightly as that sensitive bundle of nerves was further stimulated by the doctor’s tongue.

Lena was fluttering, hovering on the edge for several long moments, until finally the pressure snapped. She let out a cry as her entire body trembled, shutting her eyes tightly as waves of warmth surged through her.

Angela’s eyes were fixed on her girlfriend’s face, committing every instant to memory as she continued the gentle strokes of her tongue to work her through her climax. Eventually, when Lena came back down to Earth, she opened her eyes, still glazed and unfocused, and looked down at where Angela lay between her legs, her movements finally slowing to a stop. “That was brilliant, love,” she whispered, smiling stunningly.

Angela grinned back, wiping her mouth clean and crawling back up the bed. She dropped herself beside Lena, their breathing slowly returning to normal as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. They merely lay there, the connection between them only growing stronger as they bathed in their afterglow.

By some unspoken agreement, they pulled each other into a hug, their lips meeting again. But despite their exploring tongues and the feeling of their naked bodies pressed tightly against each other, this time, the moment didn’t feel sexual, but it was somehow even more intimate.

Even after their lips separated, they remained firmly in each other’s arms as sleep rapidly crept up on them both.

“I love you, Angie,” Lena muttered drowsily.

“I love you too, Lena,” Angela replied.

It was like this, their hearts filled with warmth and love, that the two women finally drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave everyone hanging (especially Lena and Angela) by continuing the story without a moment like this, especially with what happened after that party. I've never written anything like this before, so this chapter was a bit of an experiment. I'm a bit nervous about it, but I think it came out all right. Let me know what you thought! As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> -Edit- I've updated the tag I added for this chapter because I didn't like the way it sounded


	11. The Slipstream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, everyone! Here we are, at the last chapter of How Time Slipped Away From Us, and I just wanted to say thank you for all of your support! I've loved writing this so far, and I'm not done yet :) be sure to stick around for Part 2!
> 
> Warning for this chapter - This chapter contains major character death. It's canon, but I still thought it was important to note.
> 
> Summary of the last chapter - Angela and Lena have sex. That's pretty much all

Angela was slowly roused from a fitful sleep by a warm bundle turning in her embrace, soft hair tickling her chin as the woman in her arms turned to connect soft lips with hers.

Opening her eyes, she found Lena still looking adorably sleepy, her normally messy hair even more disheveled than normal. Sighing happily, Angela began to respond, kissing the other woman back with just as much delicate intimacy.

“I think it’s time to wake up, sleepyhead,” Lena said after a few minutes, giving her girlfriend a little smirk. “You know, I hate the idea too, but we do need to get ready.”

Angela laughed groggily, running her hand lovingly through the younger woman’s chaotic spikes. “Hmm, I’m not convinced you do. All the time I’ve known you, you were always a morning person, and I see no reason that would change all of a sudden. Stop lying, darling.”

“Mmhmm, but you’re so warm, love,” Lena released a slightly exaggerated yawn, cuddling closer into the doctor. “I could definitely make an exception.”

Angela slowly pulled herself more fully awake, stretching as much as she could without separating their bodies or removing the covers. “Don’t tempt me. If you let me, I’m sure I could find some medical reason you can’t go,” she said with a teasing grin.

Lena giggled, pulling her into another kiss. “I think I’ll get by, doc. I want to do this, and I definitely wouldn’t want you getting into trouble for making something up like that. Besides, it’ll be fun!”

“I know. You’ll be brilliant,” Angela said with a caring, affectionate smile.

“Thanks, love,” the shorter woman replied, unwillingly extracting herself from the doctor’s arms. “But you definitely owe me cuddles when I get back.”

“I might consider it,” Angela said mock-solemnly. “You ask for a lot, but I think I can manage.”

Lena giggled again, then pressed their foreheads together. “I believe in you, love. My bargains are tough but fair,” she whispered, practically radiating happiness as she nuzzled gently against her girlfriend. They spent another several moments enjoying each other’s company, but eventually, Lena let out a little sigh, slid out of bed, and stretched, giving Angela the opportunity to surreptitiously admire the view as she made her way to the shower.

Of course, Lena noticed. “My eyes are up here, doc,” she laughed, turning around and putting her hands on her hips, all while wearing a seductive smirk as Angela tried unsuccessfully to keep her eyes from drifting downwards. “Unless you want to go for another round.”

“After work, I’m all yours,” Angela flirted back, propping her head on her hand.

“You know, I would ask if you wanted to join me for a shower, love, but then I’m pretty sure we’d never get to work on time,” she chuckled as she stepped inside the bathroom, blowing Angela a kiss before easing the door shut behind her.

“You’re probably right,” the blonde called, a little regretfully, as the sound of running water and quiet humming reached her ears. She grinned, enamored by how hopelessly cute Lena could be, and began to search her drawer for some clean underwear while she awaited her turn.

It was only after several more kisses and flirtatious comments that the two women eventually prepared themselves for the big day ahead. Lena, in her blue and yellow flight suit and a pair of sunglasses, and Angela, in her typical white lab coat and her hair tied back into a short ponytail.

But although she felt tranquil at first, by breakfast, a nervous pit had begun to settle itself firmly in Angela’s gut. Lena, too, seemed to be feeling some of the same anticipation, but she hid it well. When Captain Amari stopped by to wish her luck, she thanked her and offered her a seat, taking the time for a short, casual chat. When Genji and McCree told her to break a leg, she laughed along at their retelling of the comedic failures of their own first missions. She even blushed and giggled when Reinhardt and Torbjörn led the crowd in series of cheers and toasts for her impending success. Any nervousness she felt, she concealed so well, appearing so relaxed and put-together, that Angela found herself wondering if she was worrying too much.

_Everything will be fine. Winston designed it, after all. And they’ve been testing the design for years. She’ll be alright._

Almost before she knew it, it was time for Lena to report to the hangar, and they found themselves standing outside, hand in hand.

“Don’t worry, love. I have this under control,” Lena reassured her with a smile. “I’ll be back before you know it. Now come here and give me a proper kiss.”

Angela returned the smile and swallowed her nerves, pulling the shorter woman in for a deep kiss, one hand cupping her cheek while the other rested softly on her waist. They melted into each other for several seconds, then the doctor pulled away.

“Good luck,” she whispered.

“Thanks, doc. To you too. Let’s get this girl flying, yeah?” Lena said cheerily as she held her hand out for the doctor. With a nod of agreement, Angela took the outstretched hand, and followed her into the hangar.

But inside, they were greeted by a sight neither anticipated. Lena gasped as flashes of light and shouting voices made themselves known, the reporters practically clambering over each other as they assaulted Commander Morrison with questions.

The two women had mere moments to react before the _swarm_ noticed them. Someone shouted, “Is that her?” and suddenly, they were all over Lena and Angela, bombarding the pilot with questions like, “How does it feel to be the youngest pilot in Overwatch history?”, “What drove you to succeed so early in life?”, and “What should we hope to see from this test flight?”

Not at all used to the public eye, Lena stammered and stumbled, clutching desperately to her girlfriend’s hand as she frantically tried to answer questions as confidently as possible. Meanwhile, Angela chipped in whenever she could, helping Lena with answers.

_What’s all this? So much for a ‘classified’ test. This was never supposed to be a public event! What are they playing at?_

Well after a seemingly endless barrage of questions and camera flashes had left both women feeling dizzy and disoriented, Commander Morrison finally managed to divert the media’s attention away from them. Angela couldn’t quite make it out over the bustling noise, but he seemed to be making something about the aircraft’s ground crew seem far more interesting than it actually was, giving Winston the chance he needed to quickly pull both women away from the paparazzi.

When Winston closed the door behind them as they entered the control tower, the quiet fell over them like a soothing blanket, letting Angela finally hear herself think. Beside her, Lena heaved a massive sigh of relief, only slightly loosening her white-knuckled grip on Angela’s hand as the clamor faded away.

She was still taking deep, calming breaths when Angela rounded on Winston angrily.

“Why are there _reporters_ here, Winston? This wasn’t supposed to go public until _after_ the test flight, not before. I swear, if Morrison did this…” she seethed on behalf of the still-rather-stunned British woman.

Winston sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his temple to soothe the headache that was rapidly forming there. “Actually, when they arrived, he seemed just as surprised as you do. He suspects Director Petras decided Overwatch could use the positive press, which is why he told the media.”

“And we didn’t find out about this in advance because?” she replied, ready to find the director herself and give him a piece of her mind.

“I don’t know,” Winston sighed again.

Angela was about to say something else when Lena came fully back to herself and gave her hand a comforting squeeze, then pulled her in for a kiss. “It’s okay, Angie. Just took me by surprise is all. Please don’t go getting into trouble on my behalf,” she pleaded, cutting off any attempted protest with another quick peck. “Now I guess I just gotta put on a show.”

As much as she disapproved of the director’s actions, the doctor found herself acquiescing to the brunette’s puppy eyes embarrassingly quickly, knowing that she didn’t really have the authority to question him anyway. “Okay,” she said. “Be careful, though. Remember, I still owe you those cuddles.”

“Wouldn’t miss it, love,” she giggled, giving her a casual salute, two fingers touched jauntily to her brow. The doctor waved back, feeling an uncomfortable lump form in her throat as she watched her girlfriend turn around, jogging quickly to her aircraft and taking her seat in the cockpit. With a surprising amount of effort, Angela managed to drag her eyes away, finally joining Winston in the control tower elevator.

The short ride was quiet, with a slightly tense silence settling between the two friends as they travelled upwards. Despite all the tests and simulations, they were still putting Lena at risk, and that was a feeling neither of them even remotely enjoyed. And now, they had to do it for a peanut gallery.

On arriving in the air traffic control room, Angela made herself comfortable at her station, running through well-practiced motions as she booted computers and loaded programs to prepare for the flight. Diagnostics and debugs ran across the array of screens, briefly flashing the successful results of each test before immediately continuing to the next one.

Then, when Lena hooked her flight suit into the sensing system, her vitals lit up the displays, and Angela’s work could begin. Her heartrate, breathing, brain activity, all being actively measured and displayed on the doctor’s computers, allowing her to compare every result with their countless prior tests. And as happy as she was to see her girlfriend in perfect health, Angela could not help but breathe a little sigh of disappointment, having been half-hoping to find some last-minute medical excuse to cancel the flight.

She gave Winston a smile and a wave to show that she was ready.

“Alright, Tracer. We’re almost ready up here, so go ahead and run through the startup sequence,” Winston’s voice crackled over headsets throughout the control tower.

“Aye, aye,” Lena replied to her designated callsign, beginning to run through her preflight checks, confirming every single result with those being monitored by the agents in the tower. Angela tried to keep up, but even after spending several weeks in Lena’s company, much of the technical jargon, especially concerning the teleportation matrix itself, remained beyond her.

Finally, just as Lena finished ‘cycling the phase inverters,’ Winston gave her the all-clear, and those in the tower became aware of an unmistakable whine as the airplane’s twin jet engines started up. Soon, the plane had begun its arduous journey, taxiing from the hangar, all the way to the end of the runway.

Engineers and scientists alike focused on sensor readings and computer monitors, checking every readout from the high-tech jet. Non-essential personnel stood from their seats and the reporters below struggled for photographs or a better view, eyes all over the base locking on the aircraft as it prepared for its first flight.

At the end of the tarmac, the aircraft stopped, and Lena’s voice came in over the intercom, her excitement evident in her tone, “Teleportation matrix armed and ready. All systems green. Tower, this is Slipstream, requesting permission for takeoff.”

Torbjörn pressed his face up to the window, trying to get a look at the aircraft as it awaited clearance, his critical eye trying to inspect every feature of its construction from a distance. Even though Winston had designed the teleportation system, the airframe itself was still his design, after all, so its functionality was a matter of personal pride. But he found no flaws, on either a visual inspection or the readouts from his computer, so he gave Winston the all-clear.

Having received approval from the flight engineer, Winston gave Angela one final glance, who ensured that the pilot’s vitals were still in pristine condition. With a tense smile, she nodded.

The aircraft lingered, and the tower remained in an anticipatory silence, awaiting Winston’s command. Despite the distant whine of the jet, the hum of computer fans, and the various other background noises, one could practically hear a pin drop as everyone held their breath.

Then, Winston’s voice crackled over the speakers, “Slipstream, this is the tower, you are cleared for takeoff. And from everyone here, we wish you good luck and clear skies, Tracer.”

“Cheers, love!” Lena replied happily. “Drinks all around when I get back, yeah?”

“I look forward to it,” he said with a grin as the jet engines quickly climbed in pitch and volume. The aircraft began to rapidly accelerate, shooting down the runway and climbing into the sky.

Lena’s enthusiasm was contagious, and excited smiles were seen all around the room as the jet, dark grey and sleek, took to the air, its engines roaring as she deftly brought it around, sending it buzzing past the tower in a dazzling display of skill. Not too close for comfort, but enough that the message was clear. It flew perfectly.

A little chuckle could be heard over their headsets as Lena put the plane through its paces. By now, even Angela was smiling, despite her nervousness. The young woman’s sheer joy at flying was both infectious and adorable.

_I’m definitely going to kiss her when she gets back._

“Teleportation matrix charging,” Lena called. The middle of the fuselage began to glow slightly, the heat vents emitting a warm orange light as they opened to keep the core cool.

After several minutes of circling the airfield, the faint orange was steadily overwhelmed by a brilliant blue as the two field emitters began to emit light of their own, which took the form of slowly rotating glowing circles as they powered up. “Matrix fully charged,” came her voice again.

At another nod from Angela and Torbjörn, Winston gave Lena the go-ahead. “Go for it, Tracer. Good luck.”

“Affirmative. Coordinates set for a 1000-meter jump,” Lena confirmed. “Engaging the matrix.”

The teleportation system glowed brighter and brighter, its electronic hum building in volume and pitch as it prepared to launch the aircraft forward through space.

Suddenly, a warning light illuminated at Torbjörn’s station. Immediately, the offending display had the engineer’s attention. “Winston, we have a phase fluctuation in the core,” he reported quickly, his fingers already flying over the controls to try to correct the error.

“How bad?” the gorilla responded, immediately by Torbjörn’s side.

“0.1 milliseconds. And it’s getting worse.”

Angela’s heart immediately leapt into her throat. She wasn’t sure exactly how bad the problem was, but judging by their reactions, it was serious. “Can you abort?” she choked.

“If we abort now, the phase fluctuation could destabilize the entire matrix. Tracer would be killed,” Torbjörn replied, inputting commands and growling in frustration when his mechanical arm got in the way.

Talking into his headset now, Winston spoke directly to Lena, “Tracer, the core’s phase is fluctuating. Can you try to stabilize it manually?”

“I’m trying but I can’t! It’s shifting too fast!” she replied, her earlier nonchalance gone as a hint of fear entered her voice.

“0.2 milliseconds,” Torbjörn called.

Angela’s heart raced. Lena was in danger and there was nothing she could do.

“0.3.”

Winston opened the communication channel again, his voice shaky as he addressed the test pilot, “Tracer, just try to complete the jump. It might still work…”

“0.4.”

“Alright,” she replied, her voice trembling with fear, tears choking her speech. “Tell… tell Angela… tell her I love her, yeah?”

Angela activated her headset, tears of her own blurring her vision as she spoke desperately to the pilot. “I love you too. You’re a hero, Lena. And heroes never die.”

Lena chuckled sadly. “Cheers, love,” she acknowledged, as the electric whine grew to a fever pitch.

Then, just as the blue glow of the teleportation matrix became almost painful to look at, Lena flipped the remaining switch, and the Slipstream disappeared with a flash. Everyone’s eyes flicked to the point ahead of its course, in the hope that the jump would still be successful.

Five seconds passed. The crowd’s attention remained locked on the destination: the point just above the end of the runway that still had no sign of the aircraft.

Ten seconds. And the only sign the Slipstream had ever even existed was a faint trail of smoke, rapidly dissipating in the faint breeze.

 _Twenty seconds._ Still no sign of the jet. No one dared to even speak, watching with bated breath as they hoped, silently urging it to reappear.

 _Thirty._ Tears running freely down her cheeks, Angela’s eyes remained fixed on the window, the reality of the situation refusing to sink in.

_Please, no! Lena can’t be dead! She can’t be!_

Then, as if to confirm her worst fears, there was suddenly a loud explosion, and the still air seemed to shatter, rematerializing what was left of the Slipstream in a flash of blue. The fuselage was shredded, the wings torn from its body as fire and sparks shot from deep gashes in the once-sleek metal frame. To Angela, the scene seemed to unravel in slow motion as the chunk of burning, smoking metal tumbled from the sky, blue bolts of electricity arcing across its surface. She ran to the window, watching in horror as it fell, the entire ruin rapidly becoming engulfed in flames.

It was in a haze that she heard Winston calling Tracer for a response, asking her to eject. Torbjörn hammered in vain at his computer, trying to get anything to respond, struggling to trigger the ejector seat remotely. But nothing happened.

When it hit the ground, the aircraft erupting in a column of flames and burning debris, Angela didn’t scream.

She didn’t burst into desperate, agonized sobs.

She could only watch, frozen in horror as the love of her life died before her eyes, and she was completely and utterly powerless to stop it. All her monitors read nothing: no signal, no response, flat line, but she could only see them through the blurry film of tears that slowly rolled down her cheeks.

She sat down hard, the world shattering around her as the reality sunk in. The scattered flaming wreckage and billowing black smoke next to the runway making its point terribly clear.

_Lena!_

Winston was immediately by her side, holding Angela in a tight hug, his usually contained and calm persona weeping and apologizing at the sight of the wreck below.

_No! Why? Why her?_

She pulled Winston into a desperate hug, squeezing him as tightly as she could and burying her face in Winston’s shoulder.

_Why did I let her go?_

Dully, she saw Torbjörn sprint from the room, shouting for agents to follow him as he tore a fire extinguisher from the wall in the slight hope that he could get down there in time. That somewhere among the shattered fragments and burning remains, Lena might somehow have survived.

Angela didn’t follow. The image of Lena’s body, charred and lifeless, leapt forward in her mind, and she almost vomited. Heartbroken sobs tore themselves from her, only vaguely muffled by Winston’s fur. She couldn’t go down. It would break her.

The doctor’s mind was a mess of memories, but her happy ones were now smothered by the pain of sadness. The regrets of an impossible future together.

The memory of a happy giggle. A warm smiling face. A cute British accent.

_Lena!_

Shared conversations over dinner. Cuddling together on the couch, laughing and talking and watching movies.

_Please, don’t leave me alone._

The looks they shared in private. Warm kisses, gentle hugs, passionate moments.

_I love you._

The happiness that Lena made her feel. The smile she could bring to Angela’s face no matter how bad the day had been. She had been her light, her joy, her purpose.

_But she’s gone._

_Forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nooo! Lena :( And poor Angela too!
> 
> Probably unsurprisingly, this chapter was pretty hard to write (not because I didn't have anything to write about, but because I was trying not to cry). I'm a horrible person, I know.
> 
> I thought this would be a good place to end the first part of this series. The second part, dealing with Angela's life while Lena is lost in the Slipstream, will pick up right where this one left off. In fact, as a little apology for making you all sad with this chapter, I'm actually posting the first chapter of part 2 today too! (it's sad too though, so I guess I'm not being that nice). Make sure to check it out if you've liked this story so far!
> 
> And as always, comments and kudos are super appreciated!


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